FTC Flags Antitrust Risks in Microsoft-OpenAI Deal, Cites Cloud Computing Concerns

Jan 17, 2025, 08:16 PM

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has raised antitrust concerns over Microsoft Corp.'s $13 billion investment in OpenAI, according to a report released on Friday. The FTC highlighted that this partnership, along with similar deals between Amazon.com Inc. and Google with AI company Anthropic, could allow tech giants to extend their dominance in cloud computing into the emerging AI market. The report suggests that such partnerships may lead to the full acquisition of AI developers by these tech giants in the future, potentially undermining fair competition. FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized that these partnerships could create lock-in effects, deprive startups of essential AI inputs, and expose sensitive information that could disadvantage other competitors.