U.S. antitrust enforcers are gearing up to take action against the aggressive tactics of tech giants that are seeking to dominate the field of artificial intelligence. There are growing concerns that a small number of companies could stifle competition in this rapidly evolving technology sector.
The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department have struck a deal that paves the way for antitrust investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia. This marks a significant step towards increased regulatory oversight of these companies’ activities in the AI industry. The details of these probes are not yet public, but they are expected to be finalized in the coming days.
The agreement between the two agencies resolves a longstanding dispute over how to divide oversight of artificial intelligence companies. This has limited the government’s ability to address the rapidly changing landscape of corporate competition. The Justice Department will focus on investigating Nvidia, a company that has risen to become the second-largest publicly traded company in the U.S. by leveraging its strengths in AI chips. Meanwhile, the FTC will lead inquiries into the behavior of Microsoft and OpenAI, including their recent deal involving the ChatGPT chatbot.
In addition to these investigations, the FTC is looking into whether Microsoft structured a $650 million deal with Inflection AI in a way that circumvented antitrust reviews mandated by federal law. This deal resulted in many Inflection AI employees joining Microsoft to work on the company’s Copilot project. The FTC is examining whether Microsoft intentionally designed the transaction to evade regulatory scrutiny.
Microsoft has asserted its compliance with legal reporting requirements for mergers under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, stating that they take these obligations seriously. Both Nvidia and OpenAI have declined to comment on the matter. These developments signal a renewed focus by U.S. antitrust authorities on addressing potential anti-competitive behavior in the fast-paced world of artificial intelligence.