July 12, 2024

Microsoft quits OpenAI

Microsoft exits its position on OpenAI’s board amidst regulatory probes. Get your 3-minute weekly dose of financial news.

By Stella Ong

Home > Blog > News & Insights > Microsoft quits OpenAI

Hey Superheroes,

U.S. monthly inflation for June came in at 3% overnight, the lowest it’s been in 12 months. The surprisingly soft number led to higher expectations of a Fed rate cut, which will be confirmed at the next Fed meeting on 31 July. Following the news, the S&P SmallCap Index jumped up despite broader Wall Street indices falling.

Closer to home, we’ve got the ASX 200 hitting a new intraday record high. Some of the big banks, CBA and NAB, also saw their share prices hit new highs for the first time since the GFC. 

It’s another eventful week in the markets. Here are your stories.

Microsoft leaves OpenAI board

If you’ve been a Spotlight fan for a while, you’d remember that piece on how Microsoft’s invested $13 billion into OpenAI to get first dibs on its shiny new tech.

Well, it looks like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wasn’t too pleased with that. 

🤖 A bit too dominant

Since Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI came to light, regulators have been scrutinising the level of influence Big Tech has on AI development.

Microsoft has had a seat on OpenAI’s board for a while now. The relationship between the two companies got the most eyes when Microsoft exercised its power to get OpenAI CEO Sam Altman back into his seat after he was ousted last November.  

Perhaps that act may have gotten them into the limelight, given that the FTC began speaking of antitrust concerns in January. Even EU and UK regulators expressed concerns on the possibility of Big Tech hindering smaller players from entering the market. 

While Microsoft finally announced its decision to leave its observer position on  OpenAI’s board this week, some believe it isn’t enough to resolve the FTC’s concerns.

🦸 Not just Microsoft

Microsoft isn’t the only one under watchful eyes. Apple has also since pulled out of its planned position on OpenAI’s board.

The antitrust regulators are also keeping an eye on Amazon’s US$4 billion collab deal with AI company Anthropic, NVIDIA’s dominance over AI chips and Google’s Gemini AI arrangement with Samsung.

🔦  Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:

  • TELSTRA PRICE HIKES: It looks like even big telcos are succumbing to inflationary pressures. Telstra announced $2 to $4 a month price hikes on its mobile and broadband plans in order to invest further in its operations. While not the best news for customers, investors welcomed it – evidenced by Telstra’s stock surge following the news.
  • MULTI-CHANNEL NBA: The NBA has inked a US$76 billion deal that’ll have Comcast, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video as its new partners for at least 11 seasons. However, Disney’s ESPN still stays as the home for NBA Finals.
  • NOT EXACTLY GOOD GUYS?: The ACCC took Aussie retailer, The Good Guys, to court after claiming that the latter misled numerous customers with its marketing materials over the span of four years. The Good Guys operates under parent company, JB Hi-Fi, which touched all-time highs earlier this week. 

 

Wall Street’s quarterly earnings season is now underway, with some global banks including JP Morgan and Citigroup reporting later tonight. 

Netflix and Johnson & Johnson are among the big names reporting next week.

Keep up to date on the markets by following us on Instagram, @superheroau

23-10_general_CTA-banner@2x

Become a part of

our investors' community

Why you should join us:

  1. Join free and invest with no monthly account fees.
  2. Fund your account in real time with PayID.
  3. Get investing with brokerage from $2. Other fees may apply for U.S. shares.

Read our latest articles

Make knowledge your superpower and up your skills and know-how with our news, educational tools and resources.

rio tinto
star casino sydney
china stimulus
rea group
Close up of me Bank branch signage
Close up of CommBank branch signage
japanese yen and usd
Close up of major tech apps on a phone
Macro shot of Elon Musk and his X (formerly Twitter) profile
bridgerton netflix
ai companies openai stabilityai anthropic
mygov rebate
apple intelligence
soldier holding droneshield gun dronegun tactical
closeup of AI chip
nvidia chip
alibaba on nyse
disney+ first profit
apple iphone macbook
google office dividend
netflix subscribers grow
clothes rack
bob iger with minnie mouse
TMTG media
reddit ipo
xiaomi porsche tesla eectric vehicle su7
facebook news meta
c3.ai stock ai
NVIDIA surpasses Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla and Meta
CSL’s heart medicine misses a beat
Disney’s $1.5 billion foray into gaming
Meta and Amazon surge after earnings reports
Tesla Model Y gets the gold medal
Apple finally takes Samsung's crown
microsoft replacing lithium with sodium for batteries
tesla byd sales
New Apple Watches don’t make it to the holidays
Tesla’s largest vehicle recall yet
Lights out for Brookfield bid
Apple cuts its Goldman Sachs credit cards
NVIDIA’s export ban and OpenAI’s big week
ChatGPT’s win is Microsoft’s win
Pilbara Minerals records lower revenue
Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard for US$69b
Atlassian acquires Loom in A$1.5b deal 
Airbnb looks to long-term listings and car rentals
Is Amazon “too” prime?
The RBA was considering a rate hike this month
Apple drops new iPhone to tighter wallets
This megabyte-sized IPO is giving Nvidia the jitters
Flight Centre is back to the future with dividends
Nvidia's hot chips
Seven West’s profit goal miss
CBA’s $10b cha-ching!
Your Uber (profit) has arrived
Carvana’s 1000% nirvana
"Game on" for Microsoft's mega-deal
Ice Cubes with Potential IPOing companies logo
Liontown the pride leader
A forced marriage of two banking titans UBS bank CreditSuisse
SVB - The biggest banking collapse since 2008
The Apple of Goldman’s Eye
Bunnings snags a bite of the pet market
ETF providers go head-to-head on fees
Retailers report bumper earnings
Disney to let go of 7000 staff
Big week for tech as Nasdaq sets new record
Spotlight: Tesla's earnings accelerate
Virgin Australia prepares for takeoff
Spotlight: ChatGPT - Rise of the Machine
Nike swooshes into 2023
Disney's Avatar returns after more than a decade
SpaceX launches further into space
Elon picks a fight with Apple
Abercrombie & Fitch is so hot right now
The wheels fall off Deliveroo
Meta cuts a record number of jobs
Call of Duty fires on record sales
Alphabet is feeling the heat
WWE's finishing move on Wall Street
Microsoft takes the FOMO out of WFH
Elon and Twitter's billion dollar problem
Harley-Davidson electrifies Wall St
Take-Two suffers historic hack
Apple can detect your next car crash
Spotlight: Snapchat snaps back to basics
$5 pizzas are a dying breed
Elon kicks off Man United's share price
Markets are bouncing back on a tech rally
It's a full house at Airbnb
Macca's will now pay you to stay
Elon bins Bitcoin, lights up lithium instead
Flight Centre is the most shorted stock on the ASX
Amazon is knocking on your door
Disney just bumped Netflix out of the F1
Why Kellogg's is splitting into three
Why are markets so scared of interest rates?
Why Apple is becoming a bank
Why franchises are the future of streaming
Can Kim Kardashian save Beyond Meat?
Why Warren Buffett is buying like it's 2008
Google wants a bite of Apple's hardware empire
Amazon, eBay and Shopify warn the online shopping spree is over