Apple Made Once-Unlikely Deal With Sam Altman to Catch Up in AI

When a 23-year-old Sam Altman took the stage at Apple Inc.’s annual developer conference in 2008, he gushed about being able to use the company’s new App Store to promote his software, a friend-locating service called Loopt. “We think this is a new era of mobile, and we’re thrilled to be part of it,” Altman said.

Now, 16 years later, Apple is calling upon the entrepreneur again — but with a twist. This time, the company needs his help as much as he needs Apple.

Altman currently runs OpenAI, the leading startup in generative artificial intelligence. And Apple, racing to catch up in that area, has forged a ...