First Microsoft, now Apple: Sam Altman keeps breaking up with Big Tech.

DETAILED EXPLANATION

Microsoft first invested 1 billion dollars in OpenAI in 2019 and deepened the relationship in 2023, with CEO Satya Nadella backing Sam Altman when he was briefly ousted by the board, but by this April the two companies had effectively broken up and converted their exclusive arrangement into a non exclusive one following reports Microsoft considered suing OpenAI for breach of contract. Apple is now suing OpenAI, alleging Altman's company poached its employees and stole trade secrets, and OpenAI executives were reportedly disappointed enough in the Apple partnership to consider a countersuit of their own.

The pattern points to a recurring dynamic where OpenAI's biggest technology partnerships curdle into legal disputes as the company grows.