UK Investigates Amazon’s AI Partnership with Anthropic for Compliance

12 Aug, 2024

UK Investigates Amazon’s AI Partnership with Anthropic for Compliance

Britain's competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has launched an investigation into Amazon's partnership with AI startup Anthropic. This move comes shortly after the CMA initiated a similar probe into Alphabet's collaboration with Anthropic. The investigation aims to determine if Amazon’s partnership raises any competition concerns.

Amazon has responded to the probe by asserting that its collaboration with Anthropic does not raise competition issues. The company emphasized that it does not hold a board seat or decision-making authority at Anthropic, and that Anthropic is free to collaborate with other partners. Anthropic has echoed these statements, highlighting its independence and willingness to cooperate with the CMA to clarify the nature of its partnership with Amazon.

The CMA's scrutiny reflects a broader trend of antitrust regulators globally increasing their focus on deals between major tech firms and smaller startups. In late July, the CMA also began investigating Google’s parent company Alphabet’s partnership with Anthropic. This heightened regulatory attention aligns with a joint statement by regulators in the U.S., EU, and Britain, promising collaborative efforts to ensure fair competition in the tech industry.