Apple is currently in discussions to invest in OpenAI as part of a strategy to bolster its relationship with a crucial partner in the competitive field of artificial intelligence.

This potential investment is tied to a new fundraising initiative for OpenAI, which may appraise the company, known for its ChatGPT technology, at over $100 billion. The fundraising effort, led by Thrive Capital, is expected to attract several billion dollars, with participation from Microsoft, a key rival of Apple, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The specific amounts that Apple and Microsoft might contribute to this funding round remain undisclosed, and neither company has provided comments regarding the negotiations. Historically, Microsoft has been the primary strategic investor in OpenAI, holding a 49 percent stake in the startup’s profits, following an investment of $13 billion since 2019.

In June, Apple identified OpenAI as the inaugural official partner for its Apple Intelligence initiative, aimed at integrating advanced AI features into its operating system. This collaboration is set to enhance functionalities such as Siri’s voice assistant, text proofreading, and the creation of personalized emojis.

OpenAI, along with its smaller competitor Anthropic—backed by Amazon and Alphabet, the parent company of Google—has entered into agreements with the United States government for the research, testing, and evaluation of artificial intelligence systems, as indicated by the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute.

Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, remarked, “We believe the institute has a critical role to play in defining US leadership in responsibly developing artificial intelligence and hope that our work together offers a framework that the rest of the world can build on.”

As part of the agreements, the AI Safety Institute will gain access to essential new AI models from both OpenAI and Anthropic prior to their public launch.

The institute was established last year following an executive order from President Biden’s administration aimed at assessing the risks associated with current and developing artificial intelligence technologies.