London: The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated a preliminary investigation into collaborations between major tech firms in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). This includes partnerships such as Microsoft with Mistral AI and Amazon with Anthropic.
The anti-trust regulator has invited interested third parties to provide their perspectives on whether these AI collaborations, including Microsoft’s recruitment of former employees and related agreements with Inflection AI, are in compliance with UK merger regulations and their potential impact on competition within the UK.
Joel Bamford, Executive Director of Mergers at the CMA, stated, “We will objectively and impartially evaluate whether each of these three agreements adhere to UK merger regulations and, if so, assess their impact on competition in the UK.”
Global competition authorities are increasingly scrutinizing AI-related collaborations.
“While our stance remains unbiased and no conclusions have been drawn, our objective is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the intricate partnerships and agreements involved,” Bamford added.
The CMA is accepting submissions until May 9 and is also reviewing feedback received earlier this year regarding Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. The authority is currently awaiting additional information requested from the companies but has not yet commenced a formal Phase 1 review of the Microsoft-OpenAI collaboration.
The CMA emphasized its commitment to vigilance against potential efforts by established technology firms to use partnerships and investments as a means to protect themselves from competition.
