Google-Parent Alphabet’s Partnership with AI Firm Anthropic Under Investigation in the UK

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is scrutinizing Alphabet's partnership with AI startup Anthropic to assess its impact on competition.

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This reflects global concerns about the influence of major tech companies in the AI sector.

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The investigation comes over 18 months after OpenAI's ChatGPT release sparked an AI boom.

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Other significant tech-AI partnerships under review include Microsoft's collaborations with OpenAI, Inflection AI, and Mistral AI, as well as Alphabet’s ties with Anthropic and Cohere.

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The CMA's probe is part of a broader initiative with US and EU regulators to ensure fair competition in AI.

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Anthropic, co-founded by ex-OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, competes with OpenAI’s GPT models.

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Last year, Anthropic secured $500 million from Alphabet, with an additional $1.5 billion promised, and uses Google Cloud services.

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The CMA is seeking feedback on whether the Alphabet-Anthropic partnership could reduce competition in the UK.

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Anthropic expressed willingness to cooperate, emphasizing their independence from Alphabet.

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Google stated that Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and that no exclusive tech rights are demanded.

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The outcome of the CMA's investigation could set a precedent for regulating tech-AI partnerships and impact the competitive dynamics of the AI industry.

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