UK Antitrust Watchdog Probes Google-Anthropic AI Partnership

The UK's antitrust watchdog is scrutinizing Alphabet's partnership with AI startup Anthropic over competition concerns. The AI industry has seen increased regulatory attention following multiple deals between smaller startups and tech giants, such as Microsoft's partnerships with OpenAI and Alphabet's with Anthropic. CMA is seeking public input before a potential investigation.

Britain's antitrust watchdog is scrutinizing Alphabet's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, raising concerns about its potential impact on competition, the regulator announced on Tuesday. This comes 18 months after Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT triggered an AI boom, prompting increased regulatory focus on deals between tech giants and smaller industry players.

The watchdog is also examining Microsoft's partnerships with startups like OpenAI, Inflection AI, and Mistral AI, in addition to Alphabet's alliances with companies like Anthropic and Cohere. Notably, Anthropic, co-founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, has been competing with OpenAI's GPT series with its own Claude AI models.

Last week, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), alongside regulators in the U.S. and EU, pledged to safeguard fair competition in the AI sector. Anthropic, which received $500 million investment from Alphabet last year, is under scrutiny for the nature of its partnership. The CMA is currently seeking public opinion by August 13 before deciding on an official investigation. Both Anthropic and Google have committed to cooperating with the regulator.

(With inputs from agencies.)