The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed it is conducting a formal investigation into Amazon’s ties with the AI startup Anthropic. This follows Amazon’s recent $4 billion investment in Anthropic, a company that develops large language models and a chatbot called Claude, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard.
Concerns over Quasi-Mergers
The AI industry boom has led big tech companies to adopt a "quasi-merger" approach, where they seek control over emerging innovators through strategic investments or by hiring startup founders and technical talent. This strategy allows them to avoid the regulatory scrutiny that would come with a full acquisition.
The CMA is already preparing a full-scale investigation into the close partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI, due to Microsoft’s significant investments in the ChatGPT maker. In April, the CMA also revealed it was conducting preliminary inquiries into similar deals, including Microsoft’s investment in the French startup Mistral AI and the acquisition of the core team behind Inflection AI.
The third deal under initial review involves Amazon and Anthropic. The CMA has decided to move forward with a phase 1 investigation, giving it 40 working days to determine if Amazon’s investment, which the company says does not give it a majority stake in Anthropic, meets merger regulations and whether it could harm competition in the U.K.
A spokesperson for Anthropic stated that its "strategic partnerships and investor relationships" do not compromise its ability to work with other companies or its independence in corporate governance. The CMA has until early October to decide whether to approve the deal or proceed to a more in-depth investigation.
This investigation reflects growing concerns about the impact of big tech investments on competition and innovation within the AI industry.
