Microsoft and OpenAI partnership under the EU microscope: ensuring fair competition in the age of artificial intelligence
Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI, established in 2019, is one of the strongest and most important partnerships in the world of technology. Microsoft invested $13 billion in OpenAI, enabling the startup to expand the boundaries of its creativity and innovation, while the deal opened the way for Microsoft to benefit unlimitedly from the advanced artificial intelligence models created by OpenAI, by integrating them into all of its tools and programs.
This new power of AI influence has caught the attention of the European Union, which has launched an investigation into the partnership to ensure it does not impede fair competition in the bloc's internal market. This step comes in light of the efforts of European regulators to understand the potential effects of such partnerships on the principles of fair competition in the market.
The investigation into the Microsoft and OpenAI partnership is part of a growing pattern of EU scrutiny of big technology partnerships. Similar partnerships, such as Alphabet (Google) with DeepMind, and Amazon with Hugging Face, have been investigated by the European Union in recent years.
What are the EU's motives for investigating the Microsoft and OpenAI partnership?
- Concern about Microsoft's market monopoly: Microsoft's huge investment in OpenAI could give the company too much influence, which could affect its behavior in the market and hinder competition.
- Unequal access to technology: OpenAI may offer Microsoft an open gateway to use its technology without any restrictions, which could give it an unfair advantage in accessing the latest technologies at the expense of other companies.
- Restricting innovation: This partnership may reduce OpenAI's desire to innovate new technologies due to its heavy reliance on Microsoft.
What happened in the investigation?
The European Commission has confirmed that there is no need to investigate the partnership under EU merger rules, because Microsoft does not have voting rights on OpenAI's board of directors, nor does it own any stake in the startup.
However, Microsoft remains the subject of a separate investigation for possible antitrust violations. The European Commission needs to prove that there has been a permanent change in control of OpenAI by Microsoft before it can open a formal investigation.
What is the main message from this investigation?
This investigation shows the EU's commitment to ensuring fair
competition in the digital market, especially in the field of artificial
intelligence. AI technologies developed by companies like OpenAI are critical
to the future of many industries, so it is important to carefully evaluate
these partnerships to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, and to
protect the interests of consumers and the market in general.
