By Martin Coulter
(Reuters) – Britain's antitrust watchdog on Thursday launched an investigation into Google parent Alphabet's (NASDAQ:) partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
Nearly two years after Microsoft-backed OpenAI sparked an ai boom with the launch of ChatGPT, regulators around the world are increasingly concerned about deals struck between big tech companies and smaller startups. small.
Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, said last year it had secured a $500 million investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5 billion over time.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been examining Alphabet's relationship with Anthropic since July, when it began seeking views on whether the deal could undermine competition in the UK.
The regulator has set December 19 as the deadline for its Phase 1 decision, at which time it will decide whether to continue with the investigation.
Alphabet and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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