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A UK regulator is investigating a partnership between Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Anthropic, a company it invested in back in September 2023.
Here's a look at what's involved in the investigation and the timeline of events.
What Happened: The Competition and Markets Authority, which is a leading UK regulator, is investigating the partnership between Amazon and Anthropic, in a potential setback to the artificial intelligence sector.
On Thursday, the CMA said it had "sufficient information" about the partnership to start its investigation.
The CMA began investigating Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic in April, seeking comment and investigating whether the partnership resembled a merger that could potentially involve anti-competitive behavior.
Amazon told the Financial Times it was "disappointed" by the CMA investigation probe. Amazon believes its investment and work with Anthropic "does not raise any competition concerns or meet the CMA's own threshold for review."
"By investing in Anthropic, Amazon, along with other companies, is helping Anthropic expand choice and competition in this important technology," Amazon told the Financial Times.
At the time of the investment, Amazon said Anthropic would leverage the company's custom-designed chips to develop and rollout its AI software. Amazon said it would utilize Anthropic's technology in its products.
Amazon is not Anthropic's exclusive cloud provider and does not have any seats on the company's Board of Directors, which are two items that could limit the investigation into anti-competitive behavior.
The investigation by the CMA follows the Federal Trade Commission launching an inquiry into Amazon and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) for their investment in Anthropic.
Read Also: Google, Amazon-Backed OpenAI Rival Anthropic Unveils ‘Claude 3.5 Sonnet’ – Its Most Powerful AI Yet
Why It's Important: The deadline for a Phase 1 decision on whether the investigation moves forward is currently set for Oct. 4.
The investigation comes as the artificial intelligence sector has drawn increased focus on regulation and scrutiny over investments and partnerships. Concern from regulators and watchdog authorities centers on the potential large influence big tech companies could have on the AI sector with their investments and partnerships with AI startups.
An investment in ChatGPT parent and Anthropic competitor OpenAI by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has also been the subject of several investigations.
CMA recently launched an investigation into Microsoft hiring staff from Inflection AI. The deadline for the investigation into Microsoft to be elevated currently sits at Sept. 11.
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