Key points:
- CMA examines Microsoft, Amazon AI partnerships
- Microsoft, Amazon express confidence in partnerships
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently reviewing the partnerships between Microsoft and Mistral AI, and Amazon and Anthropic. The regulator is also examining Microsoft’s hiring of former employees and related arrangements with Inflection AI. As part of its information gathering process, the CMA is inviting views from third parties on these partnerships and arrangements.
The CMA is assessing whether these deals fall within UK merger rules and if they have any impact on competition in the UK. The regulator has not yet formed any conclusions on whether the deals raise competition concerns or result in the creation of relevant merger situations.
The scrutiny of these partnerships and arrangements is part of a larger review of AI partnerships. The CMA is focused on concerns about potential reduction of competition in the UK. The examination of the Microsoft-Mistral AI and Amazon-Anthropic partnerships follows the CMA’s identification of an interconnected web of over 90 partnerships and strategic investments involving the same companies.
Microsoft has expressed confidence in the partnerships. The company states that common business practices such as hiring talent or making a fractional investment in an AI start-up promote competition and are not the same as a merger. Amazon has also commented on the review, stating that it is unprecedented for the CMA to review a collaboration of this type.
The CMA is also considering feedback received earlier this year on Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. The regulator is currently waiting for information it has requested from the firms. The CMA has not reached any conclusion on whether these business arrangements fall within merger rules or raise concerns surrounding competition in the U.K.
