2023-12-09 17:13:43
Published on Dec 8 2023 at 5:40 p.m.Updated Dec 9 2023 at 6:13 p.m.
Did Microsoft actually get its hands on OpenAI without the operation being properly examined by an antitrust authority? A year following the start of the ChatGPT phenomenon, competition issues are catching up for the first time with the booming generative AI sector. On Friday, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA), the competition watchdog in the United Kingdom, launched a public consultation to find out whether the links between Microsoft and OpenAI did not in fact lead to a merger, with potentially serious consequences. harmful to the market, such as a dominant position or the absorption of a competitor before it becomes dangerous. According to the “Financial Times”, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), equivalent of the CMA in the United States, is also studying the question, even if no investigation has yet been launched.
For the record, Microsoft has promised to invest up to $13 billion over several years in the Californian start-up behind ChatGPT, as part of the “extended partnership” signed in early 2023. The IT giant is also the “exclusive supplier” of OpenAI on the cloud, since all its algorithmic models run on Azure. Finally, Microsoft also acts as a powerful distributor: at the beginning of November, OpenAI’s generative AI was integrated into all of Microsoft’s office software, such as Word, Excel or Teams.
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