UK CMA Probes Alphabet's $2.3B Investment in Anthropic After Amazon's Similar Deal Cleared

Oct 24, 2024, 02:26 PM

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a formal investigation into Alphabet Inc.'s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The regulator is scrutinizing Google's planned $2.3 billion investment in Anthropic over concerns that the deal could restrict competition in the burgeoning AI sector. The CMA has set a December 19 deadline for its Phase 1 decision. The partnership includes Anthropic using Google Cloud services as part of its operations. This investigation follows the CMA's clearance of a similar investment by Amazon in Anthropic, highlighting increased regulatory focus on major tech companies' investments in AI startups. The CMA has been examining the relationship since July, and the probe raises questions about the potential impact on the tech landscape and future AI collaborations.