FTC opens inquiry into Big Tech’s partnerships with leading AI startups

By MATT O’BRIEN
AP Technology Writer

U.S. antitrust enforcers are opening an inquiry into the relationships between leading artificial intelligence startups such as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Anthropic and the tech giants that have invested billions of dollars into them. Lina Khan, chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in opening remarks at a Thursday AI forum, said the agency is “scrutinizing whether these ties enable dominant firms to exert undue influence or gain privileged access in ways that could undermine fair competition.” The FTC said Thursday it issued “compulsory orders” to five companies — cloud providers Amazon, Google and Microsoft, and AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI — requiring them to provide information regarding investments and partnerships.