The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will not investigate Microsoft's partnership with artificial intelligence (AI) startup Mistral AI.
“The CMA has determined that the partnership between Microsoft Corporation and Mistral AI is not subject to investigation under the merger provisions of the Corporations Act 2022,” the regulator said in an update on Friday (17 May).
The regulator announced on April 24 that it was considering whether a partnership between the two companies could reduce competition within the UK market, and invited interested parties to submit comments by May 9. Ta.
On the same day, the CMA issued a press release announcing that it was seeking views on the partnership between Microsoft and Mistral AI, the partnership between Amazon and Anthropic, and Microsoft's hiring of former Inflection AI employees.
The regulator added that these requests were the first part of an information-gathering process and that it had “not concluded” whether the three transactions raised competition concerns.
Joel Bamford, executive director of mergers at the CMA, said in a press release on April 24: “The CMA recently committed to increasing the use of its merger control powers as part of the Foundation Model Update.” . “While we remain open and have not drawn any conclusions, our aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the complex partnerships and arrangements that are underway.”
Following comments on Microsoft's partnership with Mistral AI, the regulator announced the launch of a merger investigation on Thursday (May 16) and announced its “determined ineligibility” decision on Friday. .
The CMA has not provided an update on its Amazon-Anthropic merger investigation or its Microsoft-Inflection AI investigation since April 24, when it announced it was seeking comment on those transactions.
According to an April 24 report in PYMNTS, some experts believe that tough antitrust rulings in these cases could change the way major companies interact with emerging AI companies and reduce enthusiasm for new partnerships. and warns that the pace of innovation may stall.
Ryan M. Yonk, a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, a think tank, told PYMNTS: Access to capital will become more difficult, resulting in slower growth. ”