Like Microsoft, Apple May Get Observer Role on OpenAI’s Board

Apple is reportedly set to receive an observer role on OpenAI’s board.

As Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports, Phil Schiller is the frontrunner for the role. Schiller was Apple’s head of marketing until 2020, and he currently oversees the App Store and manages the company’s product launch events under the title of Apple Fellow.

As an observer, Schiller would be allowed “to attend board meetings without being able to vote or exercise other director powers” and “gain insights into how decisions are made at the company,” according to Gurman, who says “details of the situation could still change.”

The board seat is a key part of the AI deal that will integrate ChatGPT into Apple’s operating systems. It’s reportedly a no-cash deal, with Apple convincing OpenAI that a presence on its devices—and the opportunity to secure more ChatGPT Plus subscribers—is payment enough.

Apple, meanwhile, gets a popular chatbot on its systems and a bigger presence at OpenAI. Things could get tricky with Microsoft, which also has a non-voting observer role. As Gurman notes, future board meetings might shed light on what Microsoft is doing with OpenAI, which Redmond might not want Schiller to know about.

Apple is keeping its options open. It’s held talks with other AI companies about integration with Apple Intelligence, and Google Gemini might be next on the list.

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