Brussels explores antitrust probe into Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI
Enlarge / EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said the bloc was looking into practices that could in effect lead to a company controlling a greater share of the AI market. (credit: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
Brussels is preparing for an antitrust investigation into Microsoft's $13 billion investment into OpenAI, after the European Union decided not to proceed with a merger review into the most powerful alliance in the artificial intelligence industry.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, began to explore a review under merger control rules in January, but on Friday announced that it would not proceed due to a lack of evidence that Microsoft controls OpenAI.
However, the commission said it was now exploring the possibility of a traditional antitrust investigation into whether the tie-up between the world's most valuable listed company and the best-funded AI start-up was harming competition in the fast-growing market.