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

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog is opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The Competition and Markets Authority said Thursday 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. Googld said, “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does” and that it doesn’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.