Microsoft, Google AI deals attract attention of European Commission…

Microsoft’s collaboration with OpenAI and Google’s deal to install Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) functionality on Samsung devices have faced new antitrust scrutiny from the European Commission (EC).

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Competition Policy (in the photo) said it would send additional questions to Microsoft and OpenAI under antitrust laws “to understand whether certain exclusivity clauses could have a negative impact on competitors.”

A Microsoft representative said Mobile world live (MWL) that it is “ready to answer any additional questions the European Commission may have.”

The antitrust watchdog is also sending information requests “to better understand the implications of Google’s agreement with Samsung to pre-install the small Gemini nano model on certain Samsung devices.”

In April, the European Commission found that Microsoft 13 billion dollars The investment in OpenAI did not violate European Union merger and acquisition rules because OpenAI did not obtain control over OpenAI.

“We appreciate the European Commission’s thorough analysis and conclusion that Microsoft’s investment and partnership with OpenAI do not give Microsoft control over the company,” Microsoft said. MWL.

Vestager added that the European Commission “will monitor the relationships between all key players in this rapidly evolving sector, including Microsoft and OpenAI.”

She also stated that the EC is concerned that AI partnerships of large technology companies may make it more difficult for smaller AI developers to reach users, which is why the EC is asking Google for additional information about its partnership with Samsung.

She noted that the European Commission is also monitoring cases of “employee poaching,” where one company takes over another primarily because of its employees. She cited Microsoft and Inflection AI as prime examples.

“The commercialization of AI and its powerful tools will be led by a few companies that already have a lot of market power,” Vestager said. “So we remain vigilant.”