"Microsoft + OpenAIenAI" model attracts regulatory attention

Almost every AI startup has a giant behind it: Microsoft stands behind OpenAI, Alphabet-C and Amazon support Anthropic. Microsoft, Alphabet-C, and Amazon have already invested billions of dollars in top AI startups, driving the rapid development of the AI industry.

However, these transactions have now caught the attention of regulators. On Thursday, January 25th, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will investigate the cooperative relationships between Microsoft and OpenAI, Amazon and Anthropic, and Alphabet-C and Anthropic, and has issued orders to these five companies to provide more information about their investments and collaborations.

FTC Chair Lina Khan stated in a statement:

"History has shown that new technologies can create new markets and healthy competition. But as companies rush to develop and commercialize AI, we must be vigilant about the potential for monopolistic behavior."

She added: "Our research will reveal whether these dominant companies pose risks of distorting innovation and disrupting fair competition."

For AI companies, cooperation with large tech companies is crucial for their survival and development. Building large language models is extremely costly and requires massive computing resources, which these tech giants happen to have the strong funding and robust infrastructure to support.

Among them, Microsoft best represents the unique relationship between large tech companies and AI startups. Microsoft has invested $13 billion in OpenAI and has integrated OpenAI's technology into its own business. Especially after the "personnel earthquake" at OpenAI, Microsoft also gained a non-voting observer seat on the board of directors.

Rima Alaily, Vice President of Microsoft, believes that the cooperation between Microsoft and OpenAI is "promoting competition and accelerating innovation."

In the past two months, antitrust agencies in the UK and the EU have also announced that they are studying some agreements reached between tech giants and AI technology developers. Two weeks ago, the European Commission stated that it is investigating the impact of these partnerships on market dynamics and specifically mentioned "examining Microsoft's investment in OpenAI to determine whether it can be reviewed under the EU Merger Regulation."