LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s antitrust regulator will review whether Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI has resulted in an “acquisition of control,” which leads to one party having material influence over another, it said on Friday.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was also considering if the deal had resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation.
“There have recently been a number of developments in the governance of OpenAI, some of which involved Microsoft,” the CMA said.
“In light of these developments, the CMA is now issuing an ITC to determine whether the Microsoft / OpenAI partnership, including recent developments, has resulted in a relevant merger situation and, if so, the potential impact on competition.”
Microsoft has committed to invest over $10 billion into OpenAI and owns 49% of the company.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Nov. 29 that Microsoft would take a non-voting, observer position on OpenAI’s board, meaning it has access to confidential information but no voting rights.
(Reporting by Muvija M and Sarah Young; editing by Kylie MacLellan and Kate Holton)
