Competition in the generative artificial intelligence (AI) space isn’t the only thing heating up.
Regulatory scrutiny of the biggest names behind the fast-moving technology is also picking up steam over the competitive landscape: On Thursday, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Google parent Alphabet Inc. and its growing partnership with Anthropic.
Google’s $2 billion funding pledge — a $500 million initial investment and another $1.5 billion to come — is being scrutinized for its potential to upend market competition, the CMA said in a statement. The British regulator has set a Dec. 19 deadline for its Phase 1 decision, at which point it will decide whether to proceed with the investigation.
The watchdog organization’s probe of Alphabet-Anthropic, which has been in the works since the summer, is just the latest regulatory scrutiny over a wave of moves by Big Tech to gobble up sizable stakes in AI startups.
Among AI-related agreements under review include Microsoft Corp.’s partnerships with OpenAI, Inflection AI and Mistral AI, as well as Alphabet’s ties to Anthropic and Cohere. [In January, the Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously to open an investigation into such deals forged by Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet and Anthropic. Apple Inc., meanwhile, has stalled its rollout of AI services in Europe to avoid conflict with lawmakers.]
Yet another Google scrape with a European regulator dates to July, when CMA issued a joint statement with the European Commission, Justice Department and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to preserve competition in the explosive AI market, and help establish consumer protections.
“Guided by our respective laws, we will work to ensure effective competition and the fair and honest treatment of consumers and businesses,” the organizations said.
An Anthropic spokesperson said it would cooperate with the CMA and provide a “complete picture” of its partnership with Google.
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” the spokesperson said. Anthropic, which is locked in an escalating chatbot race with OpenAI and others, was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and the siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei.
An Alphabet spokesperson said, “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
