The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is probing Alphabet’s partnership with Anthropic.
- The watchdog has gathered enough information to commence the investigation.
- Alphabet invested $500 million in Anthropic in 2023 with further commitments of $1.5 billion.
- The CMA’s decision follows its inquiries into other major AI partnerships this year.
- Responses from Alphabet and Anthropic are currently pending.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated an inquiry into Alphabet’s alliance with Anthropic. The investigation is a pivotal step in examining the implications of significant investments within the AI sector. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, infused Anthropic, a renowned AI safety firm, with $500 million in 2023, committing another $1.5 billion over an unspecified timeframe. This substantial investment and Anthropic’s dependence on Google Cloud infrastructure have prompted the regulatory body’s scrutiny.
Earlier this year, the CMA sought public opinion about the merger and has now accumulated adequate data to advance with the formal review. This probe is part of a broader initiative by the CMA, which earlier scrutinized partnerships involving major tech entities such as Microsoft and Amazon.
Alphabet’s representative has reiterated the company’s commitment to fostering an open and innovative AI ecosystem, emphasising that Anthropic is not restricted to using only Google Cloud services. “Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” they stated, affirming Anthropic’s freedom to collaborate with multiple cloud providers.
In light of this, Anthropic has expressed its intention to cooperate fully with the CMA to give a detailed account of its collaboration with Alphabet. However, neither Alphabet nor Anthropic has provided updated comments regarding the investigation’s latest developments.
Notably, Amazon, another pivotal player in the AI industry, enhanced its investment in Anthropic from $4 billion to an additional $2.75 billion last year, showcasing immense interest and competition within the sector. Such moves underscore the growing focus and scrutiny the AI landscape is receiving from regulators globally.
While the CMA’s scrutiny of Microsoft’s partnership with Inflection, and Amazon’s involvement with Anthropic led to approvals without further investigation, it’s yet to be determined if the Google-Anthropic collaboration will undergo a deeper phase two examination, a decision anticipated by 19 December 2024.
The CMA’s extensive evaluation of AI-related partnerships marks a significant moment in the oversight of technological collaborations.
