Amazon's $4 Billion Anthropic Deal Cleared by UK CMA Amid Big Tech AI Scrutiny

Sep 27, 2024, 02:37 PM

Amazon's $4 billion investment in AI startup Anthropic has been cleared by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Amid heightened scrutiny on big tech's AI spending spree, the regulator stated that the partnership does not raise competition concerns and will not be subjected to a deeper probe. The CMA found that Anthropic's local revenue was below the threshold required for a referral under current merger laws. This decision provides some breathing space for U.S. tech giants in their investments in AI startups. As part of the collaboration, Anthropic will use Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the company's custom silicon to build, train, and deploy AI models. The CMA's clearance of this deal, along with a similar collaboration between Microsoft and Inflection AI, indicates a more favorable environment for tech companies in the UK.