FTC and DOJ to Open Antitrust Probes into Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia

Jun 6, 2024, 02:30 PM

Federal regulators in the United States have reached an agreement to proceed with antitrust investigations targeting Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia, focusing on their roles in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will lead the inquiries into Microsoft and OpenAI, while the Department of Justice (DOJ) will investigate Nvidia. The FTC is specifically probing Microsoft's $650 million deal with Inflection AI, including the hiring of co-founders Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan, to determine if the transaction was structured to avoid antitrust scrutiny. Additionally, the FTC will examine Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. These investigations come amid growing concerns over the concentration of AI technology and the potential for anticompetitive practices among these tech giants.