The partnership with the giant Microsoft and the creator of ChatGPT will be scrutinized by the authorities of the European Union.
If OpenAI was able to bring the famous chatbot to the world, it is thanks to the support given to it by Microsoft for several years, support which has never wavered, with the announcement last year of an investment of 10 billion dollars in the Californian start-up. Links between the two entities are so strong that they are beginning to attract the attention of antitrust regulators, including those of the European Union.
The European Commission on alert
Would the links between Microsoft and OpenAI be too close, and would they constitute a problem for competition in the field? This is what the European Union wants to know, which announces that it wants to look into Microsoft’s investments in Sam Altman’s company.
“ European Commission checks whether Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI can be examined under the EU Merger Regulation » indicated the European executive. Microsoft obviously defends itself against any infringement.
A non-voting observer seat for Microsoft
“ The only thing that has changed recently is that Microsoft will now have a non-voting observer on the OpenAI board. » replied a spokesperson for the Redmond firm.
Indeed, until recently, Microsoft had no place on the OpenAI board of directors. It was only after the extremely crazy week experienced by Sam Altman last November, who was disembarked before being urgently recalled, that Microsoft obtained this seat. Which allows him to know more directly what is happening within OpenAI, without having, theoretically, a say.
As a reminder, last December, the British antitrust regulator also announced that it would examine the link between the two companies, to see if there was reason to launch an antitrust investigation.
Source : Reuters
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