OpenAI allegedly plotting legal action against Apple surrounding ChatGPT

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KCBS Bloomberg Tech and Business Report 3 min 1 speaker 5 chapters transcribed 8 days ago
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Why is OpenAI considering legal action against Apple over ChatGPT integration?

Holly Quan 0:00
Time for our daily tech and business report. Today, we're joined by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Reports are emerging that OpenAI is considering legal action against Apple, allegedly because OpenAI's execs are not happy with Apple's efforts to integrate chat GPT into its devices. This is under a 2024 deal between the two companies. And it also comes amid the ongoing trial pitting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman against Elon Musk. So Mark, what is this really about? Is it performance or is it about poaching engineers?
Mark Gurman 0:33
This is about OpenAI believing that the deal that they struck in 2024 hasn't made them the type of revenue and given them the type of momentum that they expected from the agreement. They expected ChatGPT and OpenAI technology to be integrated more thoroughly across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems.

What expectations did OpenAI have for ChatGPT integration on Apple devices and why were they unmet?

Mark Gurman 0:57
They expected that there would be more endpoints for subscriptions. But instead, the integration is actually fairly rudimentary.
Holly Quan 1:05
Well, and Apple is not real happy with OpenAI as well because aren't some of their people jumping ship?
Mark Gurman 1:12
Well, Apple obviously has some gripes with OpenAI. I mean, for one, Apple is rebuilding the underlying models for Siri for the new version that's being introduced in about three, four weeks from now. And they went with Google Gemini, as we've discussed in the past, to revamp that versus OpenAI. Also unhappy about the way that OpenAI has been poaching Apple engineers. They have a hardware division now, and they're pillaging Apple's engineering ranks, people working on the iPhone, the iPad, the watch, the Vision Pro, you name it. Those types of people are being hired with gigantic pay packages to OpenAI companies.

How is Apple’s shift to Google Gemini and its own Siri models affecting its relationship with OpenAI?

Mark Gurman 1:52
And then, you know, Apple has viewpoints about OpenAI's privacy stance as well, believing that, you know, their privacy policies don't necessarily fit the Apple privacy ethos. And there's, you know, a lot of questions around that, too.
Holly Quan 2:08
Under the 2024 deal, was there a timeline? I mean, were there certain expectations that Apple was supposed to meet?
Mark Gurman 2:18
You know, OpenAI had their own impressions of what the deal was. They maintained that Apple wasn't very clear about how exactly the integration would look and how it would function. Sort of Apple told them to take a leap of faith that it would work out and it would be integrated well. There was talk about this deal potentially being as big as the Google search deal, which brings in $20 billion a year for Apple and $60, $70 billion a year for Google. But obviously, you know, this deal is nowhere near that.

What were the timeline and performance expectations in the 2024 OpenAI‑Apple deal?

Mark Gurman 2:49
And OpenAI expected it would be a, you know, multi-billion dollar a year revenue engine on the way to an IPO. But that's clearly not the case.
Holly Quan 2:59
So does OpenAI have to sue Apple in order to break up?
Mark Gurman 3:04
That seems to be what's going on here. I don't necessarily anticipate a lawsuit. There are other levers that OpenAI could pull in sort of the legal realm. One of those are notices of breach of contract. And so we'll see what ends up happening here. Obviously, as you mentioned, OpenAI is currently embroiled in a trial.

What legal options does OpenAI have besides filing a lawsuit against Apple?

Mark Gurman 3:25
Closing remarks have been going on today in their back and forth with Elon Musk over the creation and technology at OpenAI. And so I think they're going to have to get past this Elon Musk situation before they dive deep into the Apple one.
Holly Quan 3:41
Yeah, one lawsuit at a time if it ends up being that way. Mark, thanks so much for the time and for the reporting. That is Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. You can hear our tech and business reports weekdays at 1230 here on KCBS. And for more, catch Bloomberg Technology Weekdays at 8 a.m.

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