UK watchdog probes Alphabet’s deal with Anthropic

By Martin Coulter

(Reuters) -Britain’s antitrust watchdog launched a probe on Thursday into Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:)’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

Almost two years after Microsoft-backed OpenAI triggered an AI boom with the release of ChatGPT, regulators around the world have been increasingly concerned by deals struck between big tech companies and smaller startups.

Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, last year said it had secured a $500 million investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5 billion over time.

The startup also uses Alphabet’s Google Cloud services as part of its operations.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been scrutinising Alphabet’s relationship with Anthropic since July, when it began seeking views on whether the deal could undermine competition in the UK.

The regulator has set Dec. 19 as the deadline for its Phase 1 decision, at which point it will decide whether to carry the investigation forward.

An Alphabet spokesperson said the company was committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, we don’t demand exclusive tech rights,” the person added.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.