Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic is facing a UK competition investigation

LONDON– Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it is launching a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it had “sufficient information” to launch an initial investigation after seeking comment earlier this year on whether the deal would hinder competition.

The CMA has until December 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic can and does use multiple cloud providers, and we do not require exclusive technology rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company focused heavily on increasing the security and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed to a multi-billion dollar investment in Anthropic last year.

The UK regulator has scrutinized a number of AI deals as investment money flows into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month, the company approved Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and also signed Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.