Olena - stock.adobe.comNewsCMA clears Google over Anthropic partnershipThe UK competition watchdog has finished its initial investigation into Googles partnership with Anthropic, with no follow-up on the cardsByCliff Saran,Managing EditorPublished: 19 Nov 2024 16:01 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said Alphabets partnership with Anthropic does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002.In October 2023, Alphabet invested $2bn in OpenAI rival Anthropic. The artificial intelligence (AI) startup has also received $4bn funding from Amazon.The CMA is concerned that the foundational model sector is developing in ways that risk negative market outcomes. In particular, the likes of Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Apple have the market dominance to buy up or shut down competition. It is also worried that partnerships between these major technology providers and developers of AI foundation models may limit choice and be anti-competitive.In September, the CMA concluded its investigation of Microsofts hiring of key staff from Inflection, finding that Inflection AI was not a strong competitor to the consumer chatbots Microsoft has developed directly in partnership with OpenAI.Discussing the outcome of the latest investigation, Joel Bamford, executive director of the CMA, wrote on LinkedIn: Our investigation has shown that Google has not acquired the ability to materially influence Anthropics commercial policy and therefore the partnership does not meet the jurisdictional threshold for UK merger control to apply.He described the conclusion of this latest investigation as another decision by the CMA which provides greater clarity for businesses and their investors.In a summary of its findings from the phase one investigation into the deal, the CMA said it did not believe Google had acquired material influence over Anthropic as a result of the partnership. The CMA said it looked at the risk of Google exercising influence over Anthropic at shareholder and/or board level, along with an assessment of Googles own Vertex AI product.The available evidence did not indicate that Google has the ability to exercise material influence over Anthropic through the partnership, the CMA concluded.The CMA said it had considered the fact that Anthropic and Google offer two of the leading foundational AI models globally. However, given Anthropics turnover is below the 70m threshold, which is one of the criteria it takes into account when assessing whether to look further into a deal, pursuing this thread of investigation was not necessary.The CMA is also looking at whether it should investigate Amazons partnership with Anthropic, due to the $4bn funding the AI startup received from Amazon.Some industry experts believe the CMA should continue looking at the foundation model market. Josh Mesout, chief innovation officer at Civo, said: While the CMA has decided not to pursue an investigation into the Anthropic/Alphabet partnership, the broader concerns raised in the investigation about potential market concentration in AI remain valid.Over-dependence on a handful of major firms could still stifle innovation, limit consumer choice and potentially lead to a monopoly that favours Big Tech. Even without a formal investigation, it is the responsibility of everyone in the industry to ensure the AI market remains fair, competitive and conducive to ongoing technological advancement.Read about other CMA investigationsCMA offers potential solution to Vodafone and Threes merger issues: Remedies Working Paper published by UK competition watchdog into merger of leading telcos says deal may proceed if appropriate remedies are implemented.AWS and Google slam Microsoft for claiming its cloud licensing tactics are not harming them: The CMA published the summary hearings from Microsoft, AWS and Google this week, which revealed all three had quite a lot to say on the Redmond software giants cloud licensing practices.In The Current Issue:Interview: Rahul Todkar, head of data and AI, TripadvisorGartner Symposium: Why the chance of digital success is randomDownload Current IssueClearly smart, SAS acquires Hazy: A wider vision for synthetic data CW Developer NetworkI guess the trainings down in Africa, CNCF & Andela skill-up 20,000+ IT pros CW Developer NetworkView All Blogs