The FTC says collaborations like Microsoft-OpenAI raise antitrust concerns

This was reported by the Federal Trade Commission staff report It said on Friday that there are potential competition issues in partnerships between big tech companies and generative AI developers, notably Microsoft’s backing of OpenAI and Amazon and Alphabet/Google’s partnership with Anthropic.

“The FTC’s report sheds light on how partnerships between big tech firms can create gridlock, deprive startups of key AI inputs, and expose sensitive information that can harm fair competition,” said FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan. statement. (Newly elected President Donald Trump He plans to replace Khan as chairman.)

The report focuses on the roles of Microsoft, Amazon and Google as cloud service providers working with OpenAI and Anthropic; Among other things, it shows that these collaborations can affect access to computing resources and engineering talent, increase switching costs for companies working with AI developers, and give cloud providers unique access to sensitive data.

Rima Alaili, deputy general counsel of Microsoft told Bloomberg said the company’s partnership with OpenAI has “launched one of the world’s most successful AI startups and fueled an unprecedented wave of technology investment and innovation in the industry.”