Microsoft has given up a board observer seat at OpenAI, which had attracted regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, saying it was not necessary because the AI ​​start-up’s governance had improved significantly over the past eight months.

Apple, which last month announced plans to bring OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT to its devices, will not take an observer role on OpenAI’s board, despite being widely expected to do so, the Financial Times reported, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

An OpenAI spokesperson said the company would establish a new engagement approach by hosting regular stakeholder meetings with strategic partners such as Microsoft and Apple, and investors such as Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures. Microsoft took a non-voting, observer position on OpenAI’s board in November last year after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stepped back from taking the reins of the company that operates the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT.

The seat meant it could attend OpenAI’s board meetings and access confidential information, but did not have the right to vote on matters including the election or selection of directors. The observer seat and Microsoft’s more than $10 billion investment in OpenAI have sparked uneasiness among antitrust watchdogs in Europe, the UK and the US about how much control it has over OpenAI.

Microsoft cited OpenAI’s new partnerships, innovation and growing customer base as reasons for Altman leaving the supervisory seat after returning to the startup.

In a July 9 letter to OpenAI, the company said, “Over the past eight months, we have seen significant progress made by the newly formed board and are confident in the company’s direction. Given this, we no longer believe our limited role as an observer is necessary.”

EU anti-competition regulators said last month that the partnership would not be subject to EU merger rules because Microsoft does not control OpenAI, but that they would instead seek a third-party opinion on exclusivity provisions in the deal.

In contrast, British and US antitrust watchdogs continue to have concerns and questions about Microsoft’s influence over OpenAI and the latter’s independence. Microsoft and OpenAI are increasingly competing to sell AI technology to enterprise customers, aiming to generate revenue and demonstrate their independence to regulators to address antitrust concerns. Additionally, Microsoft is expanding its AI offerings on the Azure platform and has appointed the CEO of Inflexion to lead its consumer AI division, a move widely interpreted as an attempt to diversify beyond OpenAI.