Apple No Longer In Talks To Invest In OpenAI (macrumors.com) 16
Apple has withdrawn from discussions to invest in OpenAI's $6.5 billion funding round, though reasons for the decision remain unclear. The company still plans to proceed with integrating ChatGPT into Siri. MacRumors reports: The development comes just a month after WSJ reported that Apple was considering an investment in OpenAI as part of a fundraising effort that could value the AI company at over $100 billion. The high valuation reflects the intense competition in the artificial intelligence sector that OpenAI helped ignite with ChatGPT's launch in late 2022. While Apple has stepped away, other major tech companies remain involved. Microsoft, which has already invested $13 billion in OpenAI, is expected to contribute about $1 billion to this latest round. Nvidia is also reportedly in talks to participate. OpenAI's transition into a for-profit structure may have factored into Apple's decision. Last week, Reuters reported on OpenAI's plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be controlled by its non-profit board. "Chief executive Sam Altman will also receive equity for the first time in the for-profit company, which could be worth $150 billion after the restructuring as it also tries to remove the cap on returns for investors," reported Reuters.
Good Move (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, maybe. On the other hand, the scam could not be any more obvious at this time.
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True.
"Open"AI is not "Open" in any manner of speaking.
Like here's the thing. If the AI training data was "open" we could ignore some of the other stuff. But it isn't, which means they are basically saying "trust us" when it comes to the models, and we can't refine the models without knowing what's in it.
I think what's going to happen is we're going to see a bit of an implosion in "generative AI" use. Lots of these AI systems are going nowhere. We're seeing CoPilot crash and burn, We're seeing no practical u
Revenge of the Podcasting Bro (Score:2)
I think the reasons are obvious (Score:3)
1) Sam Altman isn't trustworthy except to do what's right for Sam Altman alone
2) OpenAI used to be a non-profit, and now it's kind of not? So it's less mission driven than it used to be
3) Apple doesn't really care about valuations; they don't need to make money on this. Their investment would have likely come with several requests regarding Apple control of any AI on Apple devices, something I doubt Altman would agree to.
Can't wait for the eventual movie (Score:4, Interesting)
It's going to be fantastic when the AI bubble pops and Sam Altman has set $100 billion on fire. He's the next Adam Neumann.
What a story of absolute greed in action. Microsoft is running as fast as they can to give OpenAI money, most of which ends up right back in their pockets through Azure cloud services. This pushes others to join the rush, resulting in a fantastic multiplier for the "return" on investment as Azure revenue, and they will eventually either dump the investment for a profit or write off the losses. Either way, Microsoft is the only one winning in this model.
Re: Can't wait for the eventual movie (Score:2, Funny)
There will be a movie, but itâ(TM)s not the one youâ(TM)re describing.
AGI is real, and the prize is in sight.
Itâ(TM)s not just Altman.
$100B is a very conservative estimate of the bets being made right now.
Cheers
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AGI is real, and the prize is in sight.
Hahaha, no. Not even remotely true. Unless you go with the fake definition of AGI, were it is not General Intelligence.
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The existing tech is useful enough for a lot of things, people just need to get in the habit of using it. Same thing happened for text messaging and search engines. It took a while for everyone to start using it.
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Actually search engines got popular very quickly. I remember, I was there.
AI is also being adopted extremely quickly, to the point where a shocking amount of content on the Internet is now AI generated. What's holding it back isn't lack of awareness, what's holding it back is the limitations of the technology.
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What a story of absolute greed in action.
Indeed. Another nice example why a significant part of the human race is crap.
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"He's the next Adam Neumann."
Adam Neumann at least pocketed some of the money.
Altman's greed (Score:3)
Sam Altman's 'for-all-mankind' scam is coming to an end.
As with many of these ventures, the greedy top makes sure they arrange fat multi-million rewards for themselves while letting all the other employees work for bananas.
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Sam Altman's 'for-all-mankind' scam is coming to an end.
As with many of these ventures, the greedy top makes sure they arrange fat multi-million rewards for themselves while letting all the other employees work for bananas.
I'm not sure it's a scam as much the fact that few ideals withstand a $150B payday, particularly when you can engage in motivated reasoning such as "ours are the only hands we can trust and we need to be for-profit to raise funds to stay in front".
Worldcoin to the rescue! (Score:2)
Was this an elaborate ruse to build out a huge infrastructure to support his blockchain?
Which crypto will win, Trump's or Altman's?