Google's Partnership with AI Startup Anthropic Faces Potential Competition Investigation in the UK

LONDON — The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Thursday that it is initiating an investigation into Google’s business relationship with AI firm Anthropic.

The CMA stated it has gathered "sufficient information" to warrant an initial investigation, following a request for feedback earlier this year regarding potential competitive harms related to the deal. 

The authority has until December 19 to either approve the deal or escalate the matter to a phase two investigation.



“Google is committed to fostering the most open and innovative AI environment worldwide,” the company emphasized. “Anthropic has the freedom to use multiple cloud providers, and we do not require exclusive tech rights.”

Founded in 2021 in San Francisco by former OpenAI employees Dario and Daniela Amodei, Anthropic has focused significantly on ensuring the safety and reliability of its AI models. 

Reports suggest that Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, committed to investing in Anthropic last year in a deal potentially exceeding $1.5 billion.

Anthropic stated it is collaborating with the regulator and will provide a comprehensive overview of Google’s investment and their business partnership. 

"We are an independent company, and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships impact the independence of our corporate governance or our ability to conduct business with others,” the company added.

The UK regulator has been scrutinizing various AI deals as significant funding flows into the sector amidst the AI boom. 

Last month, it approved Anthropic’s $4 billion acquisition by Amazon and also sanctioned Microsoft’s partnerships with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

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