Microsoft and OpenAI partnership under consideration in the UK

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that an assessment process has been launched to examine whether Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI is a de facto merger. The CMA statement noted that an assessment process has been launched to seek the views of all parties in order to determine whether Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI will result in a lessening of competition in the country. The statement said, “There have been a number of recent developments in the management of OpenAI, some of which involve Microsoft. In light of these developments, an assessment is underway to determine whether the partnership, including the latest process, has resulted in a merger and, if so, the potential impact on competition.” Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI in January of this year, taking a 49 percent stake in the company.