The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced its intention to investigate significant artificial intelligence (AI) players, including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI, regarding their investments and partnerships in the AI sector.
In an announcement made on Jan. 25, the FTC revealed that it had issued orders to these five companies, compelling them to provide information about their agreements with generative AI companies and major cloud service providers, as well as the strategic rationale behind these collaborations.
FTC Chair Lina Khan, speaking at a tech summit organized by the agency, described the orders as part of a "market inquiry into the investments and partnerships being formed between AI developers and major cloud service providers."
The FTC's investigation aims to understand the various approaches businesses are taking to develop and utilize AI, which often involve forming partnerships and making direct investments in AI developers to access essential technologies and inputs for AI development.
Under its authority to conduct a 6(b) study, the FTC can investigate AI companies independently of its law enforcement division and issue civil investigative demands. This grants the agency the power to compel companies to provide specific reports and responses to inquiries about their operations.
The commission seeks details on the impact of these partnerships on competition for AI inputs and resources, including the competitive dynamics related to essential products and services necessary for generative AI.
Additionally, the FTC is interested in accessing information shared with any other government entity, including foreign government entities, regarding investigations, requests for information, or other inquiries related to these topics.
Meanwhile, the antitrust authority in the United Kingdom is considering launching an inquiry into Microsoft's significant collaboration with OpenAI. Microsoft has responded, asserting that it holds a non-voting observer role on the board of the ChatGPT maker.
Furthermore, the European Commission has signaled its intent to investigate whether Microsoft's investment in OpenAI falls under reviewable provisions of the EU Merger Regulation.
