Apple poised to get OpenAI board observer role as part of AI pact

Apple will get an observer role on OpenAI’s board as part of a landmark AI agreement announced last month, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

Phil Schiller, the head of Apple’s App Store and its former marketing chief, was chosen for the position, the report said.

The board arrangement will take effect later this year, and Schiller has not yet attended any meetings, according to the report.

An observer can attend board meetings without being able to vote or exercise other powers that directors usually have, according to the report. Observers, however, do gain insights into how decisions are made at the company.

Apple and OpenAI declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

The move comes on the heels of Apple’s announcement in June, bringing OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT to its devices and integrating its new “Apple Intelligence” technology across its suite of apps, including virtual assistant Siri.

OpenAI said in March it was appointing new directors to the board, including company CEO Sam Altman, Sue Desmond-Hellmann, a former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nicole Seligman, a former president of Sony Entertainment, and Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart.