UK Competition Watchdog Launches Investigation into Google-Anthropic Partnership

Google's partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces investigation

LONDON (AP) - Britain's competition watchdog said it's opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The CMA has until December 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude. Anthropic said it's cooperating with the regulator and will provide "the complete picture about Google's investment and our commercial collaboration".

Google-Anthropic AI partnership under UK investigation

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday it's opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The CMA has until Dec 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude. Anthropic said it's cooperating with the regulator and will provide "the complete picture about Google's investment and our commercial collaboration." "We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others," it said in a statement.

Google's partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday it's opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company focused heavily on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic. The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic's $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft's deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

Google's partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday it's opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude. Anthropic said it's cooperating with the regulator and will provide "the complete picture about Google's investment and our commercial collaboration." "We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others," it said in a statement. The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic's $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft's deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

Google's partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday it's opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company focused heavily on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic. The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic's $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft's deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

Google's partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Britain's competition watchdog is opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic LONDON -- Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday it's opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company focused heavily on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic. The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic's $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft's deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

Google's partnership with AI company Anthropic faces UK watchdog probe

The UK competition authority has scrutinised multiple tech companies' partnerships with AI companies. Google's partnership with the artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic faces a formal UK competition investigation. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe. It sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The competition watchdog has until December 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights". San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude. Anthropic said it's cooperating with the regulator and will provide "the complete picture about Google's investment and our commercial collaboration". "We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others," it said in a statement. The UK regulator has been scrutinising several AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalise on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic's $4 billion (€3.6 billion) deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft's deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

Google's Partnership With AI Startup Anthropic Faces a UK Competition Investigation

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday it's opening a formal investigation into Google's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has "sufficient information" to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition. The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," the company said. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company focused heavily on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic. The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic's $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft's deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

UK watchdog probes Alphabet's deal with Anthropic

(Reuters) - Britain's antitrust watchdog launched a probe on Thursday into Google parent Alphabet's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. Almost two years after Microsoft-backed OpenAI triggered an AI boom with the release of ChatGPT, regulators around the world have been increasingly concerned by deals struck between big tech companies and smaller startups. Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, last year said it had secured a $500 million investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5 billion over time. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been scrutinising Alphabet's relationship with Anthropic since July, when it began seeking views on whether the deal could undermine competition in the UK. The regulator has set Dec. 19 as the deadline for its Phase 1 decision, at which point it will decide whether to carry the investigation forward. Alphabet and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mark Potter)

UK watchdog probes Alphabet's deal with Anthropic

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Britain's antitrust watchdog launched a probe on Thursday into Google parent Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. Almost two years after Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI triggered an AI boom with the release of ChatGPT, regulators around the world have been increasingly concerned by deals struck between big tech companies and smaller startups. Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, last year said it had secured a $500 million investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5 billion over time. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been scrutinising Alphabet's relationship with Anthropic since July, when it began seeking views on whether the deal could undermine competition in the UK. The regulator has set Dec. 19 as the deadline for its Phase 1 decision, at which point it will decide whether to carry the investigation forward. Alphabet and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Google's $2 Billion Anthropic Investment Faces U.K. Antitrust Scrutiny -- Update

U.K. antitrust officials said they were probing whether Alphabet-owned Google's investment in artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic poses a threat to competition, a setback for the search-engine giant after British regulators cleared a similar partnership between Amazon.com and Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority launched an initial review of Google's investment and partnership with Anthropic in July. Officials have now said they opened a merger inquiry, with a decision due by Dec. 19. Tech giants have been splurging on AI startups since OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in late 2022 ushered in a spending bonanza. Google agreed to raise its investment in Anthropic to up to $2 billion late last year as the search-engine giant sought to strengthen its foothold in the fierce AI race to better compete with rivals like Microsoft, OpenAI and Amazon. Amazon, for its part, poured $4 billion into Anthropic, which offers an AI assistant known as Claude. The startup, founded by several ex-OpenAI employees, has been locked in a battle with the ChatGPT maker to secure big-ticket investments from companies willing to provide the training resources needed for its large language models. As those investments gained prominence, regulators started closing in. Google and Anthropic didn't respond to requests for comment on the merger inquiry. The move by British antitrust enforcers comes nearly a month after the CMA cleared Amazon's bigger investment in Anthropic, saying it didn't qualify for an in-depth investigation. British officials had also cleared Microsoft's hiring of former employees from Inflection AI and its partnership with the startup. The launch of a merger inquiry into Google and Anthropic marks a setback for U.S. Big Tech as it shows their ties to AI startups are still under the microscope on both sides of the Atlantic after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into generative AI partnerships earlier this year. That probe includes Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI. The FTC issued orders to the five companies to provide information on their investments into AI startups. News Corp, owner of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI. Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com and Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

Google's $2 Billion Anthropic Investment Faces U.K. Antitrust Scrutiny -- 3rd Update

U.K. antitrust officials said they were probing whether Alphabet-owned Google's investment in artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic poses a threat to competition, a setback for the search-engine giant after British regulators cleared a similar partnership between Amazon.com and Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority launched an initial review of Google's investment in Anthropic in July. Officials have now opened a merger inquiry, with a decision due by Dec. 19 on whether or not a more in-depth investigation is warranted. Tech giants have been splurging on AI startups since OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in late 2022 ushered in a spending bonanza. Google agreed to raise its investment in Anthropic to up to $2 billion late last year as the company sought to strengthen its foothold in the AI race to better compete with rivals like Microsoft, OpenAI and Amazon. Amazon, for its part, poured $4 billion into Anthropic, which offers an AI assistant known as Claude. The startup, founded by several former OpenAI employees, has been locked in a battle with the ChatGPT maker to secure big-ticket investments from companies willing to provide the training resources needed for its large language models. The launch of a merger inquiry into Google and Anthropic comes nearly a month after British antitrust enforcers cleared Amazon's bigger investment in the same startup, saying that partnership didn't qualify for an in-depth investigation. The CMA also cleared Microsoft's hiring of former employees from Inflection AI and its partnership with the startup. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," a Google spokesman said. An Anthropic representative said the startup would cooperate with the CMA and provide officials with the full picture about Google's investment and their commercial collaboration. "We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others," Anthropic said. According to Google, it doesn't have veto rights over Anthropic's strategic commercial decisions because it doesn't have board seats or voting rights at the startup. The probe marks a setback for U.S. big tech companies as it shows their ties to AI startups are still under the microscope on both sides of the Atlantic after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into generative AI partnerships earlier this year. That inquiry includes Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI. The FTC issued orders to the five companies to provide information on their investments into AI startups. News Corp, owner of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI. Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com and Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

Google's $2 Billion Anthropic Investment Faces U.K. Antitrust Scrutiny -- 2nd Update

U.K. antitrust officials said they were probing whether Alphabet-owned Google's investment in artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic poses a threat to competition, a setback for the search-engine giant after British regulators cleared a similar partnership between Amazon.com and Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority launched an initial review of Google's investment and partnership with Anthropic in July. Officials have now opened a merger inquiry, with a decision due by Dec. 19 on whether or not a more in-depth investigation is warranted. Tech giants have been splurging on AI startups since OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in late 2022 ushered in a spending bonanza. Google agreed to raise its investment in Anthropic to up to $2 billion late last year as the company sought to strengthen its foothold in the fierce AI race to better compete with rivals like Microsoft, OpenAI and Amazon. Amazon, for its part, poured $4 billion into Anthropic, which offers an AI assistant known as Claude. The startup, founded by several ex-OpenAI employees, has been locked in a battle with the ChatGPT maker to secure big-ticket investments from companies willing to provide the training resources needed for its large language models. As those investments gained prominence, regulators started closing in. The launch of a merger inquiry into Google and Anthropic comes nearly a month after British antitrust enforcers cleared Amazon's bigger investment in the same startup, saying it didn't qualify for an in-depth investigation. The CMA had also cleared Microsoft's hiring of former employees from Inflection AI and its partnership with the startup. "Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world," a Google spokesman said. Anthropic didn't respond to a request for comment. Google doesn't have board seats or voting rights at Anthropic, meaning the group has no veto rights over the startup's strategic commercial decisions, according to Google. The probe marks a setback for U.S. Big Tech as it shows their ties to AI startups are still under the microscope on both sides of the Atlantic after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into generative AI partnerships earlier this year. That inquiry includes Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI. The FTC issued orders to the five companies to provide information on their investments into AI startups. News Corp, owner of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI. Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com and Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

Google's Anthropic AI Investment Gets Formal UK Merger Probe

Google's partnership with AI firm Anthropic is at risk of being derailed in the UK after the competition watchdog called for further investigation into the pact's potential impact. The Competition and Markets Authority said Thursday it's opening a formal phase one merger probe, in the latest sign that regulators are taking closer order of the wave of investment into startup AI firms.

The UK's antitrust regulator will formally investigate Alphabet's $2.3 billion Anthropic investment

Anthropic makes the Claude chatbot and AI models that compete with Google's Gemini AI. The UK's competition regulator is probing Alphabet's investment in AI startup Anthropic. After opening public comments this summer, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said on Thursday it has "sufficient information" to begin an initial investigation into whether Alphabet's reported $2.3 billion investment in the Claude AI chatbot maker harms competition in UK markets. The CMA breaks its merger probes into two stages: a preliminary scan to determine whether there's enough evidence to dig deeper and an optional second phase where the government gathers as much evidence as possible. After the second stage, it ultimately decides on a regulatory outcome. The probe will formally kick off on Friday. By December 19, the CMA will choose whether to move to a phase 2 investigation. Engadget reached out to Google and the CMA. We'll update this story if we hear back. TechCrunch notes that Alphabet reportedly invested $300 million in Anthropic in early 2023. Later that year, it was said to back the AI startup with an additional $2 billion. Situations like this can be classified as a "quasi-merger," where deep-pocketed tech companies essentially take control of emerging startups through strategic investments and hiring founders and technical workers. Amazon has invested even more in Anthropic: a whopping $4 billion. After an initial public comment period, the CMA declined to investigate that investment last month. The CMA said Amazon avoided Alphabet's fate at least in part because of its current rules: Anthropic's UK turnover didn't exceed £70 million, and the two parties didn't combine to account for 25 percent or more of the region's supply (in this case, AI LLMs and chatbots). Although the CMA hasn't specified, something in Alphabet's $2.3 billion Anthropic investment constituted a deeper dive. Of course, Google's Gemini competes with Claude, and both companies make large language models they provide to small businesses and enterprise customers.

UK competition regulator to investigate Alphabet's investment in Anthropic

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching a formal probe into Alphabet's investment in AI rival, Anthropic. The investigation comes three months after the CMA confirmed it was inviting "interested parties" to comment on Alphabet's various investments in Anthropic, which includes a reported $300 million early last year followed by another reported $2 billion. The probe being launched now is part of a multi-pronged investigation designed to tackle the so-called "quasi-merger," which has seen big tech firms take a fresh approach to gaining control of innovative young startups by, for example, hiring startup founders and technical talent, as well as making strategic investments. Beyond Alphabet's own investments in Anthropic, the three-year-old San Francisco startup has been courting other big-name investors, including Amazon, which has invested $4 billion in the startup. The CMA had been sniffing around that partnership, too, but last month it concluded that it couldn't investigate the deal under current merger rules due to the size and scope of the deal. The fact that the CMA has decided that Alphabet's investment in the same startup does qualify as a "relevant merger situation" is telling. It suggests that the terms of Alphabet's investment in Anthropic are different from those of Amazon's, or that Alphabet's deal will harm competition in a way that the Amazon partnership wouldn't. In a statement issued to TechCrunch, a spokesperson for Alphabet subsidiary Google said that "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights." The CMA, meanwhile, said it has "sufficient information" regarding the partnership to begin an investigation before deciding whether to refer the case to a more in-depth "phase 2" investigation. This decision is expected by December 19, 2024.

Google's $2B Investment in Anthropic Under Scrutiny, UK Opens Competition Inquiry - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

The decision on whether further investigation into Google's investment is needed is expected by December 19. U.K. antitrust officials announced they are investigating whether Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google's investment in AI startup Anthropic could harm competition. This is a setback for Google after British regulators recently approved a similar partnership between Amazon and Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began reviewing Google's investment in July and has opened a merger inquiry. Also Read: Intel Triumphs In 15-Year Legal Battle, EU Court Rejects Record Antitrust Penalty A decision on whether further investigation is needed is expected by December 19. Since OpenAI's ChatGPT launch in late 2022, tech giants have heavily invested in AI startups. The U.K.'s competition regulator recently approved the partnership between Amazon.Com Inc AMZN and Jeff Bezos-backed AI startup Anthropic, despite Amazon's significant $4 billion investment in the company. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed the partnership does not fall under its jurisdiction. In 2023, Google committed up to $2 billion to Anthropic to bolster its position in the AI race, competing with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Amazon. A Google spokesperson affirmed the company's commitment to building an open AI ecosystem to the Wall Street Journal. Anthropic stated it would cooperate with the CMA and emphasized its independence in strategic decision-making. The U.S. Big Techs are amid intense global scrutiny over their AI investments. Microsoft relinquished its board observer role at OpenAI amid rising regulatory scrutiny after its $10 billion investment in the AI startup. The company stepped down from the non-voting observer seat, which provided access to board meetings, as OpenAI's governance reportedly improved. Price Action: GOOGL stock is down 0.03% at $162.74 at the last check on Thursday. Also Read: AT&T Q3 Earnings: Strong Postpaid Phone Adds, Adj. EBITDA Growth, $4.4B Impairment Charge And More Photo via Anthropic Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

UK's CMA Launches Antitrust Probe Into Alphabet's $2 Billion Partnership With Anthropic | PYMNTS.com

It will launch a probe Friday (Oct. 25) that aims to determine whether the deal could undermine competition in the United Kingdom, according to a notice issued Thursday (Oct. 24). The investigation began with a review July 30, and the CMA invited anyone interested to comment until Aug. 13. "Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, we don't demand exclusive tech rights," an Alphabet spokesperson said, according to the report, adding that Alphabet is dedicated to maintaining an open and innovative AI ecosystem. The probe launch is the first phase of the CMA's investigation, per the Thursday notice. The regulator's deadline to announce its decision is Dec. 19. At that time, it will determine if a more in-depth investigation is necessary. An Anthropic spokesperson told Reuters that the company will cooperate with the investigation, per the report. "We are an independent company, and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others," the spokesperson said, according to the report. The CMA cleared a similar $4 billion partnership between Anthropic and Amazon without requiring a full-scale investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.