OpenAI is currently the main face of artificial intelligence in the tech industry. The firm was ahead of everyone by launching ChatGPT, a product with impressive capabilities and unique in the market. Other companies took years to launch something similar—with questionable initial results. However, the company has not been exempt from controversy. One of the incidents even triggered an antitrust investigation in the UK. However, the UK competition has dropped the probe against OpenAI.
Background of the investigation
The investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) wanted to dig deeper into whether there was any change in the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI. More specifically, the entity sought to determine whether Microsoft gained more power in the AI-focused company after pushing for the return of Sam Altman following his controversial dismissal.
2023 brought probably the most high-profile controversy surrounding OpenAI. In September of that year, the then board members decided to fire Sam Altman as CEO of the firm amid doubts about his leadership. This included conflicting positions regarding policies such as AI security and safety. The board also said that Sam Altman had not been “consistently candid” in communicating with them.
However, Sam Altman had a lot of approval among key members of the company. Several lobbied for Altman to return to his position, which happened shortly after. Microsoft, which has invested billions in OpenAI, also lobbied for Altman’s return as CEO.
UK’s CMA drops probe over suspicions of Microsoft increasing control over OpenAI
The move by the Redmond giant and its large investments in the company triggered the watchful eye of the UK’s CMA. They saw signs of a potential increase in Microsoft’s control over the artificial intelligence company.
“In view of Microsoft’s potentially important role in securing Sam Altman’s re-appointment, the CMA believed there was a reasonable chance that an investigation would reveal that Microsoft had increased its control over OpenAI’s commercial policy,” stated the CMA.
That said, the CMA’s findings are now in, and they favor the Microsoft-OpenAI relationship. The CMA found no conclusive evidence of increased control by Microsoft over OpenAI following the “Altman incident.” So, there is no need for a full review under the UK merger rules. However, the entity added that the findings “should not be read as the partnership being given a clean bill of health on potential competition concerns; but the UK merger control regime must of course operate within the remit set down by Parliament.”
Critics believe the decision was taken for political reasons
Critics believe the decision was influenced by recent political changes. The UK government recently urged local regulators to promote economic growth in the country. This implies less interventionism from watchdogs. In line with that new policy, Doug Gurr, former head of Amazon UK, replaced Marcus Bokkerink as head of the CMA.
Microsoft expressed satisfaction with the conclusions of the CMA’s investigation. “Our OpenAI partnership and its continued evolution promote competition, innovation, and responsible AI development, and we welcome the CMA’s conclusion, after careful and prudent consideration of the commercial realities, to close its investigation,” reads the statement.
