Apple‘s big announcement at WWDC this week, the inclusion of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in iOS 18, comes with a surprising wrinkle: according to a new report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple isn’t paying OpenAI a dime for this integration.
Traditionally, these kinds of partnerships involve some form of financial exchange. But Gurman reports that this deal is different. Apparently, both Apple and OpenAI believe the benefits outweigh any upfront monetary transaction.
For Apple, the value lies in exposure. By integrating ChatGPT into Siri and its new writing tools, Apple is essentially placing OpenAI’s technology in front of hundreds of millions of users. This kind of brand awareness for a cutting-edge AI platform is seen by Apple as “of equal or greater value” than a simple cash payment.
However, Gurman suggests Apple might be playing a longer game here. The report mentions Apple’s goal of establishing revenue-sharing deals with AI companies in the future. These deals would see Apple taking a cut from any profits generated through AI features on its platforms.
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While the base functionality of ChatGPT in iOS 18 will be free, there’s a premium tier called “ChatGPT Plus” that offers additional features. Notably, OpenAI’s existing standalone ChatGPT app for iOS already utilizes Apple’s In-App Purchase system for subscriptions, meaning Apple already gets a 15-30% cut from those transactions.
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