The European Commission is examining whether Microsoft’s involvement with the AI company and chat GPT developer Open AI may distort competition in the fledgling market segment. The authority made this public on Tuesday. We are looking at whether a formal investigation under European competition rules is an option, the statement said. If that is the case, Microsoft could face unpleasant proceedings.
The Windows Group is supporting Open AI with $13 billion and is gradually integrating the company’s technology into practically all of its core business products, including the Edge Internet browser and Office applications. Open AI is best known for its chatbot Chat-GPT, which communicates with users via text messages and images. Due to its proximity to the company Open AI, which was only founded in 2015, Microsoft has so far dominated the AI integration market. Competitors like Google and Apple are trying to catch up.
How close the connection between Microsoft and Open AI became apparent when the young AI company fired its boss and founder Sam Altman at the end of 2023 and rehired him shortly afterwards. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took part in the negotiations and advocated for Altman’s return to the company. He even offered to hire Altman and some of his colleagues himself.
The Commission now invited companies from the fields of AI and virtual worlds in general to to comment on competition issues. “We call on companies and experts to inform us about competition issues they perceive in these industries,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrete Vestager, “while closely monitoring AI partnerships to ensure they do not unduly distort market dynamics. ” After the response deadline expires on March 11th, there will be an industry workshop between April and July.