The CMA writes that it is providing an early opportunity for the parties and interested third parties to comment on whether the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI, including recent developments involving CEO Sam Altman, has resulted in a relevant merger situation and the impact that such a merger could have on competition in the UK.
Microsoft is estimated to have invested as much as $13 billion into OpenAI and has integrated many of the company’s AI tools into its own products. The CMA cites this collaboration in technology development and exclusive provision of cloud services by Microsoft to OpenAI as a “close and multifaceted” partnership.
