OpenAI is reportedly preparing legal action against Apple; it wouldn’t be the first partner to feel burned

OpenAI is so frustrated with Apple over a ChatGPT integration that failed to deliver the subscribers and prominence it expected that the company is now actively exploring legal action against the iPhone maker, Bloomberg News reported Thursday , citing people familiar with the matter. According to Bloomberg, OpenAI has enlisted an outside law firm to work through its options, which could include sending Apple a formal breach-of-contract notice without necessarily escalating to a full lawsuit (at least not immediately). Any legal move would likely wait until after the conclusion of OpenAI’s ongoing trial with Elon Musk. Still, it’s a reminder of what a difficult partner Apple can be for major software companies. The iPhone is an enormously attractive platform for growth, but it’s fully under Apple’s control — and companies that build there are only guests. From Google to Adobe, there’s a long history of Apple showing guests the door when they seem as if they’re getting too comfortable. TechCrunch has reached out to both OpenAI and Apple for comment. The OpenAI partnership, announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, wove ChatGPT into Apple’s operating systems as an option within Siri and as part of the iPhone’s Visual Intelligence feature (allowing users to use their camera to analyze their surrounds and send photos to ChatGPT with related questions). …