UK Watchdog Clears Amazon's $4 Billion AI Deal with Anthropic

Amazon's $4B AI deal with Anthropic cleared by U.K. watchdog

Amazon's $4 billion investment pact with AI firm Anthropic was cleared after heightened U.K. scrutiny into Big Tech's spending spree on artificial intelligence software. The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that the tie-up wouldn't qualify for an investigation under U.K. merger laws. It found that Anthropic's local revenue did not meet threshold limits or have a large enough share of supply in the country. Amazon has twice invested in the builder of AI tools, which is able to generate text and analysis. As part of the tie-up, Anthropic agreed to use Amazon Web Services data centers to power some of its operations, and to use Amazon's custom-built computer chips. The CMA is examining Silicon Valley firms' investments into the nascent AI industry after it found a growing pattern of transactions and highlighted concerns that the companies may use investments as a way to influence the future of the industry. The watchdog's separate investigations into Google's investment into Anthropic and Microsoft's deal with OpenAI are still running. Despite concerns about the investments, the CMA has now open and shut many of its initial probes into the deals. Microsoft's investment into Inflection AI was given the green light after the watchdog said the mass hiring of ex-employees from the startup didn't cause any regulatory concerns. "We welcome the U.K.'s CMA decision acknowledging its lack of jurisdiction regarding this collaboration," an Amazon spokesperson said. "By investing in Anthropic, we're helping to spur entry and competition in generative AI." Amazon's investment is also being considered by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has sent subpoenas to the company. It's part of a wider probe that includes Alphabet, owner of Google, and Microsoft into a series of transactions that cemented alliances between the firms and the leading developers of artificial intelligence software.

Amazon's $4 Billion Anthropic Deal Cleared by UK Watchdog

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc.'s $4 billion investment pact with AI firm Anthropic will avoid an in-depth probe, following heightened scrutiny on big tech's AI spending spree. The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that the tie-up did not qualify for an investigation under merger laws. It found that Anthropic's UK revenue did not meet the limit needed to be examined. Amazon has twice invested in the builder of AI tools, which is able to generate text and analysis. As part of the tie-up, Anthropic agreed to use Amazon Web Services data centers to power some of its operations, and to use Amazon's custom-built computer chips. The CMA has been examining Silicon Valley investments into the nascent AI industry after it found a growing pattern of transactions and highlighted concerns that the companies may use investments as a way to influence the future of the industry.

Amazon's $4 billion partnership with AI startup Anthropic gets UK competition clearance

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's competition watchdog said Friday that it's clearing Amazon's partnership with artificial intelligence company Anthropic because the $4 billion deal didn't qualify for further scrutiny. The Competition and Markets Authority approval comes after it started looking into the deal, part of wider global scrutiny for the wave of investment from Big Tech companies into leading startups working on generative AI technology. The watchdog found that San Francisco-based Anthropic's revenue and its combined market share with Amazon in Britain were not big enough to require an in-depth investigation under the country's merger rules. "We welcome the UK's Competition and Markets Authority decision acknowledging its lack of jurisdiction regarding this collaboration," Amazon said in a statement. "By investing in Anthropic, we're helping to spur entry and competition in generative AI." Under the deal, Anthropic is using Amazon Web Services as its primary cloud provider and Amazon's custom chips to build, train and deploy its AI models. The British regulator has previously cleared Microsoft's partnership with French startup Mistral AI as well as its hiring of key staff from another startup, Inflection AI. The watchdog is still scrutinizing a partnership between Anthropic and Google. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused heavily on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. The AI deals are also facing scrutiny across the Atlantic, where the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether they're helping tech giants gain an unfair advantage in the booming market for AI services.

Amazon's $4 billion partnership with AI startup Anthropic gets UK competition clearance

Britain's competition watchdog has cleared Amazon's partnership with artificial intelligence company Anthropic because the $4 billion deal didn't qualify for further scrutiny LONDON -- Britain's competition watchdog said Friday that it's clearing Amazon's partnership with artificial intelligence company Anthropic because the $4 billion deal didn't qualify for further scrutiny. The Competition and Markets Authority approval comes after it started looking into the deal, part of wider global scrutiny for the wave of investment from Big Tech companies into leading startups working on generative AI technology. The watchdog found that San Francisco-based Anthropic's revenue and its combined market share with Amazon in Britain were not big enough to require an in-depth investigation under the country's merger rules. "We welcome the UK's Competition and Markets Authority decision acknowledging its lack of jurisdiction regarding this collaboration," Amazon said in a statement. "By investing in Anthropic, we're helping to spur entry and competition in generative AI." Under the deal, Anthropic is using Amazon Web Services as its primary cloud provider and Amazon's custom chips to build, train and deploy its AI models. The British regulator has previously cleared Microsoft's partnership with French startup Mistral AI as well as its hiring of key staff from another startup, Inflection AI. The watchdog is still scrutinizing a partnership between Anthropic and Google. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused heavily on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. The AI deals are also facing scrutiny across the Atlantic, where the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether they're helping tech giants gain an unfair advantage in the booming market for AI services.

Amazon's $4 Billion Partnership With AI Startup Anthropic Gets UK Competition Clearance

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's competition watchdog said Friday that it's clearing Amazon's partnership with artificial intelligence company Anthropic because the $4 billion deal didn't qualify for further scrutiny. The Competition and Markets Authority approval comes after it started looking into the deal, part of wider global scrutiny for the wave of investment from Big Tech companies into leading startups working on generative AI technology. The watchdog found that San Francisco-based Anthropic's revenue and its combined market share with Amazon in Britain were not big enough to require an in-depth investigation under the country's merger rules. "We welcome the UK's Competition and Markets Authority decision acknowledging its lack of jurisdiction regarding this collaboration," Amazon said in a statement. "By investing in Anthropic, we're helping to spur entry and competition in generative AI." Under the deal, Anthropic is using Amazon Web Services as its primary cloud provider and Amazon's custom chips to build, train and deploy its AI models. The British regulator has previously cleared Microsoft's partnership with French startup Mistral AI as well as its hiring of key staff from another startup, Inflection AI. The watchdog is still scrutinizing a partnership between Anthropic and Google. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused heavily on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. The AI deals are also facing scrutiny across the Atlantic, where the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether they're helping tech giants gain an unfair advantage in the booming market for AI services. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Amazon's $4 Billion Anthropic Deal Cleared by UK Watchdog

Amazon.com Inc.'s $4 billion investment pact with AI firm Anthropic will avoid an in-depth probe, following heightened scrutiny on big tech's AI spending spree. The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that the tie-up did not qualify for an investigation under merger laws. It found that Anthropic's UK revenue did not meet the limit needed to be examined.

Amazon Spared U.K. Antitrust Probe Over $4 Billion Investment in AI Startup Anthropic -- Update

U.K. antitrust officials said Amazon.com's multibillion-dollar investment in artificial-intelligence company Anthropic didn't qualify for a formal investigation, a win for U.S. Big Tech weeks after Microsoft was also spared a probe over its links to Inflection AI. The U.K's Competition and Markets Authority launched a probe in August to determine whether Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic posed a threat to competition in the country. Officials have now concluded that isn't the case and said they wouldn't open a formal investigation. The investment handed Amazon a minority ownership position in Anthropic as part of efforts from the e-commerce giant to support AI startups it sees as promising in hopes to gain an edge on fierce competitors likes of Alphabet's Google, Microsoft and ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Google last year agreed to invest up to $2 billion in Anthropic. British officials said they closed the case as they essentially lacked jurisdiction because Anthropic's revenue in the country didn't meet a threshold of 70 million pounds ($93.9 million) for target companies and because the combined activities of both Amazon and the startup didn't meet a certain share of goods or services threshold in the U.K. The watchdog didn't reach a conclusion on whether the investment led to Amazon having material influence over Anthropic, but said it didn't believe the arrangement would create a relevant merger scenario. Amazon doesn't hold a board seat or decision-making powers at the startup. An Amazon spokesperson said the group welcomed the decision, acknowledging the CMA's lack of jurisdiction. "By investing in Anthropic, we're helping to spur entry and competition in generative AI," the spokesperson said. An Anthropic spokesperson also welcomed the ruling, saying the startup remained an independent company as its strategic partnerships and investor relationships didn't diminish its corporate governance independence or its freedom to partner with other companies. The decision from Britain's antitrust watchdog comes weeks after officials there also cleared Microsoft's hiring of former employees from Inflection AI and its partnership with the startup, offering some breathing space to U.S. tech giants over their ties to AI startups. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into generative AI partnerships earlier this year, ordering companies to provide information regarding recent investments into startups. That probe includes Amazon and Anthropic as well as Microsoft and OpenAI. News Corp, owner of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI.

Britain's competition watchdog clears Amazon's $4bn Anthropic partnership By Proactive Investors

Proactive Investors - Britain's competition watchdog has given Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) the green light to pursue a $4 billion (£3 billion) investment in artificial intelligence research company Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a Phase 1 investigation in August after the partnership was announced in March. Amazon said the strategic collaboration with Anthropic "will further improve our customers' experiences". Amazon expressed disappointment in the CMA's decision to hold up to the deal, but the regulator has now determined that "Amazon's partnership with Anthropic does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002". Detailing the rationale behind the approval, the CMA said the deal was unlikely to significantly reduce competition in the provision of cloud-computing services or AI development tools. This decision was influenced by the existence of several large, established players in these sectors, indicating that competition would remain strong. Additionally, the CMA noted that Amazon's investment in Anthropic would not give it control over the firm. Anthropic's Claude is a series of large language models (LLMs) designed for natural language processing tasks, similar to OpenAI's GPT models.

Britain's business regulatory agency signs off on Amazon investment in Anthropic AI

Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The British government's business and markets regulator ruled Friday that a merger between AI company Anthropic and Amazon does not violate the Enterprise Act of 2002. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority had been looking at key aspects of the partnership and if it would result in Amazon "having material influence" over Anthropic as part of a so-called "quasi-merger," which is part of a new and growing trend in the realm of artificial intelligence. Together, the two companies control 70-80% of their market share in Britain and the CMA was looking to judge if Amazon's stake in Anthropic had resulted or would result "in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services." "As we've made clear," an Anthropic spokesperson told TechCrunch, "Anthropic is an independent company and our strategic partnerships and investor relationships do not diminish our corporate governance independence or our freedom to partner with others." The San Francisco-based Anthropic is a "public benefit corporation" which has raised around $10 billion since its founding. Friday's announcement by the CMA arrived six months to the day after when Amazon let it be known it had finalized a $4 billion investment in the AI startup. But according to CMA officials, a "relevant merger situation" between Anthropic and Amazon had not been created under the 2002 Enterprise Act's provisions, meaning the point had not been reached where it could be assessed if Amazon had attained "material influence" over Anthropic. The CMA, according to documents, said it "did not need to reach a conclusion on material influence as the Partnership does not meet" specific criteria. Anthropic is a three-year-old AI company that develops large language models and a "chatbox" called "Claude," a similar virtual tool like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Bard. Anthropic's generative AI foundation model called Claude is capable of sophisticated dialogue and creative content generation as well as complex reasoning and detailed instruction. And Amazon's partnership combines the AI model with AWS's cloud technology. Amazon is a U.S.-listed multinational company active in several business areas, CMA said. Britain's regulatory agency said in April that it was looking into the Amazon Anthropic deal and inviting comments from all interested parties. In September last year, Amazon said it would pay $4 billion for a minority stake in Anthropic and would support Anthropic's development with Amazon Web services cloud computing platforms. Anthropic also counts Google and Alphabet as investors. Nearly two months after in October, the British agency opened its two-year investigation into Amazon and Microsoft's British cloud computing businesses. Amazon called it a "strategic collaboration" and indicated that Anthropic would be using AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips to build, train and deploy its future AI models. In Nov. 2023 CMA announced it had approved commitments from Amazon and Meta to settle unfair practices connected to their marketplaces platforms.

UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic

London (AFP) - Britain's competition regulator on Friday cleared Amazon's investment of up to $4 billion in Anthropic, an American developer of artificial intelligence, following a short probe. The Competition and Markets Authority had examined the significant investment by the US e-commerce giant amid concerns among global antitrust watchdogs regarding tie-ups between AI firms and big tech companies. Anthropic is developing a rival to ChatGPT-style AI chatbot. The British regulator had probed whether the partnership caused "a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services". However, it announced Friday that it did not believe that "a relevant merger situation has been created". This was owing to the fact that Anthropic's UK turnover did not exceed £70 million ($94 million), nor do both parties "together account for a 25-percent or more share of supply of any description of goods or services in the UK".

UK competition regulator clears Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic By Invezz

Invezz.com - Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it will not be investigating Amazon's $4 billion investment in the artificial intelligence startup, Anthropic. This decision comes after an initial assessment concluded that the partnership does not raise significant competition concerns under the UK's merger regulations. Amazon's investment in Anthropic is part of a larger strategy to bolster its AI capabilities, and this partnership signals a broader trend of big tech companies collaborating with AI startups to gain competitive advantages. The CMA's review of the Amazon-Anthropic partnership found no grounds for further investigation. The collaboration includes Amazon's substantial $4 billion investment in Anthropic, which aims to accelerate the development of AI technologies. The partnership has been positioned as beneficial for both parties, enhancing Amazon's cloud services through advanced AI applications while allowing Anthropic to scale its AI models faster. Regulators have become increasingly wary of large tech companies' influence over smaller startups, particularly in emerging industries like AI. In this instance, the CMA determined that the Amazon-Anthropic partnership did not qualify for a deeper probe. According to the regulator, the investment does not meet the threshold for competition concerns under Britain's current merger regulations, thus avoiding prolonged scrutiny. The Amazon-Anthropic partnership is not the only AI deal that has caught the attention of regulators. The CMA has similarly cleared Microsoft's collaboration with Inflection AI, another promising AI startup. These partnerships reflect a growing trend of tech giants seeking to invest in AI technologies, potentially reshaping the landscape of the AI sector. While Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft's AI collaborations have passed regulatory scrutiny, Alphabet's partnership with Anthropic is still under investigation. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which owns Google, has invested heavily in AI research and development, and its collaboration with Anthropic has raised questions about the potential dominance of large corporations in the AI industry. The CMA's ongoing review of this partnership indicates the growing focus on ensuring that big tech does not stifle competition in the fast-evolving AI market. Despite receiving significant investments from Amazon, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet, Anthropic maintains that its corporate governance and strategic decision-making processes remain independent. The startup, co-founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, has been clear that these investments do not compromise its ability to pursue partnerships with other firms. Anthropic's stance on independence is crucial as it continues to develop AI technologies with applications across various industries. As AI technologies rapidly advance, regulators worldwide are increasingly scrutinising deals between tech giants and emerging startups. Concerns about market dominance, data privacy, and the ethical implications of AI have led to a more cautious approach from antitrust authorities. The decisions made by the CMA and other regulators set a precedent for how future collaborations in the AI sector will be evaluated, ensuring that innovation continues while preventing the consolidation of power in the hands of a few dominant companies.

UK Regulator Clears Amazon AI Partnership with Anthropic

UK's CMA approves Amazon's $4B AI partnership with Anthropic, fostering AI innovation without raising competition concerns. According to Britain's competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Amazon has been cleared to utilize artificial intelligence from Anthropic, a company that specializes in AI. This decision occurred even after Amazon acquired an investment worth $4 billion, which shows the regulator's determination that the combination does not raise competition worries under current UK merger rules. The CMA's approval underscores a significant moment for Amazon as it continues to expand its footprint in the artificial intelligence sector. According to an Amazon spokesperson, the company is pleased with the CMA's conclusion, recognizing the authority's limited jurisdiction over the partnership. This endorsement by the CMA may pave the way for further innovation and development within initiatives without the hurdle of a prolonged regulatory review.

Amazon Spared U.K. Antitrust Probe Over $4 Billion Investment in AI Startup Anthropic

U.K. antitrust officials said Amazon.com's multibillion-dollar investment in artificial-intelligence company Anthropic didn't qualify for a formal investigation, a win for U.S. Big Tech weeks after Microsoft was also spared a probe over its links to Inflection AI. The U.K's Competition and Markets Authority launched a probe in August to determine whether Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic posed a threat to competition in the country. Officials have now concluded that isn't the case and said they wouldn't open a formal investigation. Amazon and Anthropic didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Amazon dodges antitrust scrutiny in UK over Anthropic investment

The U.K.s' antitrust authority has concluded that Amazon's partnership and equity investment in AI startup Anthropic can't be investigated under current merger rules due to the size and scope of the deal. The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) announcement comes six months to the day after news emerged that Amazon had completed a $4 billion investment in Anthropic, one of several heavily funded AI-focused startups. The three-year-old firm develops large language models (LLMs) and an associated chatbot called Claude that is roughly comparable to OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Bard. San Francisco-based Anthropic, which has established itself as a public benefit corporation (PBC), has raised around $10 billion since its inception. Aside from the $4 billion from Amazon, Anthropic also counts Google as a big-name investor, with more than $2 billion from Alphabet's subsidiary. The CMA has also launched an early-stage "invitation to comment" on Google's investment that is still pending. The CMA had been looking at whether key aspects of the Amazon and Anthropic partnership would result in "Amazon having material influence over Anthropic." This is part of a growing trend in the AI realm, where critics argue that Big Tech is seeking to gain control over startups by adopting a new M&A approach that stops short of a full acquisition. This so-called "quasi-merger" might include hiring startup founders and talent, or making strategic investments. However, the CMA said a "relevant merger situation" had not been created under the provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002, meaning it didn't even get to a point where it could assess whether Amazon has attained "material influence" over Anthropic. This is because Anthropic's U.K. turnover doesn't meet the £70 million threshold to qualify for investigation, and the companies collectively don't "account for a 25% or more" share of supply of the goods or services in question. This probe was one of many similar investigations launched by the CMA of late. It recently cleared Microsoft's Inflection acqui-hire, but concluded that the deal was tantamount to a merger. Microsoft also dodged antitrust scrutiny for buying a stake in Mistral AI. Separately, the CMA has an ongoing case against Microsoft's close ties with OpenAI -- it launched a formal "invitation to comment" for stakeholders last year, but there's been no progress to report since.

UK clears USD4B AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic

LONDON (AFP) - Britain's competition regulator yesterday cleared Amazon's investment of up to USD4 billion in Anthropic, an American developer of artificial intelligence (AI), following a short probe. The Competition and Markets Authority had examined the significant investment by the United States (US) e-commerce giant amid concerns among global antitrust watchdogs regarding tie-ups between AI firms and big tech companies. Anthropic is developing a rival to ChatGPT-style AI chatbot. The British regulator had probed whether the partnership caused "a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom (UK) for goods or services". However, it announced yesterday that it did not believe that "a relevant merger situation has been created". This was owing to the fact that Anthropic's UK turnover did not exceed GBP70 million (USD94 million), nor do both parties "together account for a 25-per-cent or more share of supply of any description of goods or services in the UK".

UK Regulator approves Amazon's AI partnership with Anthropic | bobsguide

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared Amazon's collaboration with Anthropic, a notable player in the artificial intelligence sector, which includes a significant investment of $4 billion by Amazon. The CMA determined that the partnership does not raise competitive concerns and thus does not fall under its jurisdiction for further investigation under current UK merger regulations. An Amazon spokesperson commented on the CMA's decision, stating, "We welcome the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision acknowledging its lack of jurisdiction regarding this collaboration." This ruling allows Amazon to proceed with its AI initiatives without the potential delays associated with more rigorous regulatory scrutiny. While Amazon's partnership has been approved, similar collaborations are receiving varied levels of scrutiny globally. For instance, the CMA has also recently cleared Microsoft's partnership with another AI startup, Inflection AI. However, Alphabet's partnership with Anthropic remains under examination, indicating a fragmented regulatory landscape concerning tech collaborations. Anthropic, co-founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, has attracted significant investment from various technology firms. The company maintains its independence, as stated by an Anthropic spokesperson: "Anthropic is an independent company and our strategic partnerships and investor relationships do not diminish our corporate governance independence or freedom to partner with others." This assertion highlights the importance of maintaining autonomy in a sector where collaborations can lead to concerns about market dominance. The CMA's decision adds to an ongoing discussion regarding the balance between fostering innovation and ensuring competition within the tech industry. Regulatory bodies worldwide are increasingly vigilant about the potential consolidation of power among major players, as antitrust concerns grow over partnerships between large corporations and smaller startups.

Amazon's Partnership With Jeff Bezos-Backed Anthropic Gets Green Signal From UK Competition Watchdog - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

The partnership between Amazon AMZN and Jeff Bezos-backed artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, has been approved by the U.K.'s competition regulator. This approval comes despite a substantial $4 billion investment by Amazon into the startup. What Happened: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of Britain has given the nod to the partnership, Reuters reported on Friday. The CMA clarified that the partnership does not fall within its jurisdiction and hence, will not be subjected to further investigation under Britain's merger regulations. An Amazon spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the decision, acknowledging the CMA's lack of jurisdiction over the collaboration. See Also: Marques Brownlee Reviews Apple's iPhone 16 And Launches New App: 'This Is The Most Unfinished I've Ever Seen A New iPhone Launch' The CMA has also approved a similar partnership between Microsoft Corp. and Inflection AI. However, the collaboration between Google parent Alphabet and Anthropic is still under review. Why It Matters: Anthropic, co-founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, has garnered billions in investments from several tech giants. The company maintains its corporate governance independence and the freedom to collaborate with others. This is significant in the current global climate where antitrust regulators are increasingly scrutinizing deals between smaller industry startups and big tech companies. Amazon's partnership with Anthropic has been under investigation by the CMA since August due to potential anti-competitive concerns. Despite the scrutiny, Amazon has reportedly leveraged Anthropic's Claude AI models to revamp its voice assistant, Alexa. The new version of Alexa, set to launch in October, is designed to answer complex queries more efficiently. Price Action: Amazon was trading 0.60% lower at the time of writing on Friday, as per Benzinga Pro. Read Next: Meta Unveils Zuckerberg's 10-Year Vision With Orion Glasses, Nvidia's Jensen Huang Rocks Them Image via Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Amazon's AI partnership with Anthropic gets UK competition watchdog nod

Sept 27 (Reuters) - UK competition regulator said on Friday Amazon's (AMZN.O), opens new tab artificial intelligence partnership with startup Anthropic will not be referred for a deeper probe as it did not raise competition concerns. Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

UK's CMA Decides Amazon-Anthropic Partnership Won't Lessen Competition in AI | PYMNTS.com

The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Friday (Sept. 27) that it decided it will not further investigate whether Amazon's partnership with Anthropic created a relevant merger situation that could result in a lessening of competition. The decision followed the CMA's invitation for comments on the partnership from any interest parties from April 24 to May 9 and its launch of a merger inquiry Aug. 8, the regulator said in a Friday update. The CMA found that the partnership of Amazon and Anthropic did not meet the turnover test or the share of supply test that would make it a relevant merger situation, according to a "Summary of phase 1 decision" released Friday. "In particular, the CMA found that Anthropic's U.K. turnover does not exceed 70 million pounds in the U.K., nor do the parties, on the basis of the available evidence, together account for a 25% or more share of supply of any description of goods or services in the U.K.," the summary said. "The CMA does not therefore believe that it is or may be the case that a relevant merger situation has been created." The CMA solicited opinions on the implications of the partnership between Amazon and Anthropic amid growing concerns about competition and innovation in the artificial intelligence sector, PYMNTS reported April 24. The move followed Amazon's March investment of $4 billion in Anthropic, which is an AI company known for its chatbot Claude. Amazon said it would keep a minority stake in Anthropic and not take a board position. When announcing that the CMA was inviting opinions on the partnership, Joel Bamford, executive director of mergers at the CMA, said in a press release: "Foundation models have the potential to fundamentally impact the way we all live and work, including products and services across so many U.K. sectors -- healthcare, energy, transport, finance and more. So open, fair and effective competition in foundation model markets is critical to making sure the full benefits of this transformation are realized by people and businesses in the U.K., as well as our wider economy where technology has a huge role to play in growth and productivity."