Coin World Report:
Since the rapid development of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, tech giants have been acquiring AI startups. Recently, British antitrust officials mentioned that they are investigating Google’s investment in another AI startup, Anthropic.
Officials hope to ensure that this investment does not pose a threat to competition. A similar collaboration between Anthropic and Amazon was approved earlier.
In July, the Competition and Markets Authority began reviewing Google’s investment in Anthropic. Now, a merger investigation into this matter has commenced, and a decision will be made on December 19, 2024, as to whether further investigation is required.
Investment in AI startups has been thriving. Since the emergence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT at the end of 2022, large tech companies have been heavily investing in AI startups. Last year, Google raised $2 billion in investment for Anthropic to improve its position in the AI Grand Challenge. The intention of this tech giant is clear, as it aims to compete with other rivals such as Amazon, OpenAI, and Microsoft.
In contrast, Amazon invested $4 billion in Anthropic. After all, it is a startup founded by former employees of OpenAI. Anthropic has been actively competing with ChatGPT to secure significant investments from companies that can provide the necessary training resources for large-scale language models.
The CMA investigation is a setback for tech giants, including Google.
The current investigation is a setback for the search engine giant, Google. This is because just a month ago, British antitrust officials approved Amazon’s larger investment in the same startup. Furthermore, the CMA has provided a fresh start for former Inflection AI employees hired by Microsoft.
A Google spokesperson stated, “Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world.”
Meanwhile, a representative from Anthropic mentioned that the startup will fully cooperate with the CMA and provide a clear picture of investment and business cooperation.
“We are an independent company, and our strategic partnerships or investor relationships will not compromise the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to collaborate with others,” stated a representative from Anthropic.
Google has no veto power over Anthropic’s business decisions. This is because the company does not have any board seats or voting rights within the AI company.
This not only affects Google but also other tech giants, as the Federal Trade Commission began investigating collaborative partnerships surrounding the generation of AI in early 2024. It includes Alphabet, Anthropic, OpenAI, Amazon, and Microsoft. The FTC has ordered these five companies to provide more information about their AI startup investments.
