Google’s Partnership with AI Startup Anthropic

Britain’s competition watchdog announced Thursday that it’s launching a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated it has enough information to proceed with an initial probe after seeking input earlier this year on whether the deal could hinder competition. The CMA will decide by Dec. 19 whether to approve the deal or expand its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the world’s most open and innovative AI ecosystem,” a company spokesperson said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers, which it does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

U.K. Competition Watchdog Probes Google-Anthropic Partnership

San Francisco-based Anthropic, founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, has focused on enhancing AI model safety and reliability. Both previously worked at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Last year, Google reportedly committed to a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, known for its popular chatbot, Claude.

Anthropic stated it’s fully cooperating with the U.K. regulator, promising to share “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.” The company emphasized its independence, asserting, “None of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships affect our corporate governance or limit our freedom to partner with others.”

The U.K. regulator has been actively reviewing AI deals as investment in the sector surges. Last month, it approved Anthropic’s $4 billion partnership with Amazon and cleared Microsoft’s deals with AI startup Inflection and Mistral.