OpenAI Frustrated with Apple Over ChatGPT Partnership

OpenAI is preparing to take legal action against Apple over their ChatGPT integration, which failed to deliver the expected subscribers and prominence.

OpenAI has enlisted an outside law firm to explore their options, which could include sending Apple a formal breach-of-contract notice without necessarily escalating to a full lawsuit. According to Bloomberg, OpenAI has grown increasingly aggravated over the integration's poor performance, complaining that it has been buried, its features hard to find, and that revenue from the tie-up is nowhere close to projections.

• OpenAI had expected the deal to funnel billions of dollars in new subscriptions its way and give the company prime real estate across one of the world's most-used mobile ecosystems.

• Apple has its own grievances, including concerns about OpenAI's privacy standards and irritation over OpenAI's push into hardware, an effort led by former Apple executives.

• OpenAI is hardly the first partner of Apple to regret hitching its wagon to the company, with Google Maps, Adobe, and Spotify all experiencing similar issues.

Apple has a long history of embracing partners and then alienating them, often due to its control over the iPhone ecosystem and its own commercial interests.

A History of Apple Burning Partners

• Google Maps was a flagship feature of the original iPhone, but was eventually removed and replaced by Apple's inferior Apple Maps product.

• Adobe's Flash technology was refused support on the iPhone and iPad, effectively dooming it on mobile.

• Spotify argued that Apple leveraged its control over the App Store to disadvantage rival music streaming services after launching Apple Music in 2015.

OpenAI's Strained Relationships

• The company is currently at trial with Elon Musk, who accuses OpenAI of abandoning its nonprofit founding mission and operating in bad faith.

• OpenAI has also reportedly navigated tensions with Microsoft, its biggest backer and infrastructure partner, as it pushes for greater independence ahead of its own IPO ambitions.