Microsoft's OpenAI investment could trigger EU merger review
The IndependentSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Microsoft's multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI could trigger a European Union merger investigation, the bloc's executive branch said Tuesday. The European Commission said it's “checking whether Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI might be reviewable” under regulations covering mergers and acquisitions that would harm competition in the 27-nation EU. The Federal Trade Commission in November approved new measures enabling it to more easily investigate AI products and services, noting that “AI can raise competition issues in a variety of ways, including if one or just a few companies control the essential inputs or technologies that underpin AI.” OpenAI has received several rounds of funding from Microsoft, including an initial $1 billion in 2019 and a multibillion-dollar investment last year. The commission is “also closely monitoring AI partnerships to ensure they do not unduly distort market dynamics,” the EU's antitrust enforcer, Margrethe Vestager, said in a press release.