The San Francisco 49ers announced that OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor has acquired a minority stake in the team, joining other tech titans that have bought into the club.

According to the team, the deal was approved by the NFL at Wednesday's league meeting.

Taylor, who chairs the company perhaps best known for ChatGPT, is also a co-founder of Sierra, a startup developing AI agents for companies. He has been involved in the technology industry since 2003 and has held numerous senior roles, including co-CEO at Salesforce, chief tech officer at Facebook and chairman at Twitter. 

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Taylor is a graduate of Stanford University. In a team statement, Taylor said he was a fan of the team for as long as he could remember.

"Some of my earliest memories are of iconic moments like The Catch, which defined not just an era of 49ers football but the spirit of this franchise and my love of the game. It's an incredible honor to now become part of the San Francisco 49ers organization," Taylor said.

Owner Jed York said, "With my family and our owner partners, we look forward to working alongside him as we continue to strengthen this organization, elevate the experience for our fans, and benefit the Bay Area at large."

Taylor's investment in the team follows two other tech-connected groups that have bought into the team this year.

A team consisting of Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, Byron Deeter of Bessemer Venture Partners and Will Griffith of ICONIQ Capital, along with their families, bought a stake in the 49ers in May. In October, Pete Briger Jr. of the Fortress Investment Group and his family also acquired a stake.

York and his family retain control of the five-time Super Bowl champions. According to the Sports Business Journal, the Yorks own nearly 90% of the club.