Microsoft and OpenAI partnership, Google and Samsung’s AI deal in EU crosshairs By Reuters

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU antitrust regulators will search further third-party views on the partnership between Microsoft (NASDAQ:) and OpenAI as properly Google (NASDAQ:)’s artificial-intelligence take care of Samsung (KS:), EU competitors chief Margrethe Vestager stated on Friday.

The transfer may result in investigations and doable sanctions, underscoring the unease amongst regulators worldwide on Large Tech leveraging its dominance into the brand new expertise.

Vestager had in March despatched questionnaires to Microsoft, Google, Meta’s Fb (NASDAQ:) and ByteDance’s TikTok in addition to different massive tech corporations associated to their AI partnerships.

“We’ve reviewed the replies, and at the moment are sending a follow-up request for data on the settlement between Microsoft and OpenAI. To know whether or not sure exclusivity clauses may have a detrimental impact on opponents,” she informed a convention.

Reuters was first to report that EU regulators have been constructing a case that would result in an investigation into the partnership between the 2 corporations.

The European Fee, which acts because the EU competitors enforcer, won’t study Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI beneath EU merger guidelines as the previous has not gained management over the latter, Vestager stated.

Whereas OpenAI’s dad or mum is a nonprofit, Microsoft has invested $13 billion in a for-profit subsidiary, for what could be a 49% stake.

Vestager additionally cited issues about Large Tech’s AI partnerships making it tough for smaller AI builders to achieve customers.

“We’re additionally sending requests for data to raised perceive the results of Google’s association with Samsung to pre-install its small mannequin Gemini Nano on sure Samsung units,” she stated.

Google in January reached a multi-year take care of the South Korean firm to embed its generative synthetic intelligence expertise in Samsung’s Galaxy S24 collection smartphones.

Vestager additionally stated she was wanting into “acqui-hires,” the place one firm acquires one other primarily for its expertise, as exemplified in Microsoft’s $650-million acquisition of startup Inflection in March that allowed it to make use of Inflection’s fashions and rent most of its employees.