UK regulators add Amazon-Anthropic partnership to growing list of inquiries

British regulators have launched formal investigation to the Amazon-Anthropic partnership on Thursday, the latest in a series of investigations focused on AI transactions. Office for Competition and Markets gave notice after gathering “sufficient” evidence during a public call for comments launched in April.

The agency plans to assess whether the partnership created an appropriate merger situation under the country’s law and, if so, determine its impact on market competition. Regulators are expected to decide whether to continue the Phase 2 investigation on October 4.

Amazon is currently a minority owner of Anthropic, with that deal closing in March. an investment worth $4 billion. AWS is the primary cloud provider for some of Anthropic’s workloads, and Anthropic’s Claude models are offered non-exclusively Bedrock of the Amazon.

“We are disappointed that the UK Competition and Markets Authority has not yet concluded its investigation,” an Amazon spokesperson told CIO Dive in an email on Thursday. “Amazon’s relationship with Anthropic does not raise any competition concerns or meet the threshold for CMA review.”

Anthropic said it will continue to operate as an independent company.

“Our strategic partnerships and investor relationships do not impair our independence in corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” a spokesperson for the startup said in an email Thursday. “We intend to work with the CMA to ensure they have a comprehensive understanding of Amazon’s investment and our commercial relationship.”

As large technology vendors have added generative AI capabilities to products and platforms, most have taken a multi-pronged approach that includes large investments and partnerships with fast-growing startups. That approach has raised questions for regulators about market competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority has previously expressed concerns that suppliers may have the ability to shape markets related to AI Foundation Models in their own interest.

“This could have a profound impact on fair, open and effective competition in FM markets, ultimately harming businesses and consumers, for example through less choice, lower quality and higher prices,” the agency said in an April report.

Ongoing enquiries

The investigation into the Anthropic-Amazon partnership is the latest move by British regulators to target deals with artificial intelligence startups.

Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI attracted the attention of the Office for Competition and the Market after a short — but intense — internal management crisis in the startup. The new council caused confusion, with Microsoft as observer without voting rightsa seat that has already been relinquished, according to The Verge. The Competition and Markets Authority case assessing the partnership is still open.

Microsoft is hiring AI specialists for Inflection senior management and senior management are also under review as British regulators wonder whether talent acquisition will impact market competitiveness.

“We believe that hiring talent promotes competition and should not be treated as a merger,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CIO Dive in an email in July. “We will provide the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority with the information it needs to complete its investigations expeditiously.”

Anthropic is currently the subject of two separate merger investigations in the UK.

The Competition and Markets Authority announced last week that it would be seeking comments on Anthropic’s partnership with Google parent company Alphabet before deciding whether to proceed with a potential formal investigation. Anthropic said neither Google nor Amazon are members of the board.

The European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice have signed a joint statement emphasizing your commitment to fair conduct, interoperability and choice as key factors in promoting competition, protecting consumers and helping businesses innovate.