British competition regulators announced on Wednesday their intent to closely examine recent artificial intelligence (AI) agreements involving Microsoft and Amazon due to concerns regarding potential competition hindrance within the AI industry.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) disclosed its scrutiny of Microsoft’s collaboration with Mistral AI from France and its acquisition of key personnel from another startup, Inflection AI. Simultaneously, the watchdog initiated an investigation into Amazon’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic, based in San Francisco.
Amid escalating public and corporate interest in generative AI technology, major tech firms have been injecting substantial funds into related startups, attracting scrutiny from antitrust regulators.
The UK watchdog invited feedback from stakeholders before determining whether to proceed with a thorough antitrust probe.
Joel Bamford, the CMA’s executive director of mergers, emphasized an objective and impartial assessment of these deals’ compliance with UK merger regulations and their potential impact on domestic competition.
Microsoft assured cooperation with the watchdog’s inquiries, asserting confidence in commonplace business practices such as talent recruitment and fractional investments in AI startups, distinguishing them from mergers.
The recent recruitment of Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google’s DeepMind AI research lab, and key personnel from Inflection underlines Microsoft’s commitment to advancing consumer artificial intelligence.
Additionally, Microsoft’s collaboration with Mistral, a rapidly emerging AI firm in France, follows its existing partnership with OpenAI, which also faces scrutiny from the CMA.
Amazon’s significant investment in Anthropic, aimed at developing foundation models for generative AI systems, marks a notable collaboration, drawing unprecedented review from the CMA.
Contrary to typical partnerships between tech giants and AI startups, Amazon stressed the limited nature of its investment in Anthropic, devoid of board representation, while ensuring Anthropic’s independence in utilizing multiple cloud platforms.
The CMA’s intensified scrutiny of foundation model markets, prompted by concerns outlined in a previous report, underscores the potential for powerful entities to leverage partnerships with key AI players to fortify their market positions.
