The report also states that OpenAI deliberately chose to refrain from partnering with Apple.
OpenAI declined to comment. But a person close to the company said it had taken “a conscious decision not to become the custom model provider for Apple” in the autumn of last year and instead focus on building its own AI device to leapfrog the big tech companies.
The ChatGPT developer lost out when Apple and Google announced a deal to control Gemini with Siri, but a source told the Financial Times that the company “consciously decided not to become a supplier of Apple’s custom models,” preferring to develop its own AI hardware with former Apple designer Jony Ive.
It’s a near certainty that Apple and OpenAI at least had discussions about it, but it’s not clear whether the iPhone maker actually offered the company a contract. The wording allows for the possibility of OpenAI turning down a deal, but it may merely mean it had decided to decline were Apple to make an offer.
