
Microsoft ditches OpenAI board observer seat amid regulatory scrutiny
CNN
Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab has ditched the board observer seat at OpenAI that has drawn regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, saying it was not necessary after the AI start-up’s governance had improved significantly in the past eight months.
Microsoft has ditched the board observer seat at OpenAI that has drawn regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, saying it was not necessary after the AI start-up’s governance had improved significantly in the past eight months. Microsoft took a non-voting, observer position on OpenAI’s board in November last year after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took back the reins of the company, which operates the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT. The seat meant it could attend OpenAI’s board meetings and access confidential information but had no voting rights on matters including electing or choosing directors. The observer seat and Microsoft’s more than $10 billion investment in OpenAI have triggered unease among antitrust watchdogs in Europe, Britain and the US over how much control it exerts over OpenAI. Microsoft cited OpenAI’s new partnerships, innovation and growing customer base since Altman’s return to the startup for giving up its observer seat. “Over the past eight months we have witnessed significant progress by the newly formed board and are confident in the company’s direction. Given all of this we no longer believe our limited role as an observer is necessary,” it said in a letter to OpenAI dated July 9.

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