Microsoft is in discussions to invest up to $10 billion in OpenAI, the company that developed the AI chatbot ChatGPT, according to sources speaking to Bloomberg. Bloomberg's sources said that the proposed deal is under consideration, urging the software giant based in Redmond, Washington, to allocate the funds over several years, although the final terms may change, adding that the two companies have been discussing the deal for months.
Earlier, Semafor reported that the potential investment could involve other venture capital firms, with OpenAI's valuation estimated at around $29 billion. ChatGPT, after its launch at the end of November, gained its first million users in less than a week. Its ability to mimic human conversations has raised speculation about its potential to replace professional writers and even threaten core research activities at Google.
The organization behind it, co-founded by Elon Musk and Silicon Valley investor Sam Altman, generates revenue by charging developers for licensing its technology. The new technology is based on OpenAI's GPT-3 programming language model and comes at the end of a year that has made headlines in artificial intelligence.
Microsoft previously invested around $1 billion in OpenAI and is also working to integrate ChatGPT into its Bing search engine, seeking an advantage in competing with Google's dominant search offerings. ChatGPT's AI has the capability to respond to inquiries in a natural, human-like manner, hold conversations, and answer follow-up questions, unlike the basic link listings provided by Google's search. However, it still faces issues regarding its accuracy, which Altman stated is not reliable enough to depend on the bot.
