US regulators take aim at Big Tech's role in AI - report

US antitrust regulators are to investigate Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia over their roles in the artificial intelligence industry, it was reported on Thursday.

According to The New York Times, the US Department of Justice has agree to take the lead in investigating whether chip maker Nvidia violated antitrust laws. The Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, will probe ChatGPT-creator OpenAI and Microsoft, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Although OpenAI’s parent is a non-profit, Microsoft has been a partner of the firm since 2019. It has invested up to $13bn in the for-profit subsidiary, giving OpenAI - which launched ChatGPT in late 2022 - a valuation of around $29bn.

Last year, chief executive Sam Altman was ousted in a shock move. But a number of investors, including Microsoft, pushed for his reinstatement and he was rehired just days later. The software giant then took a non-voting observer seat on the board.

The NYT said the regulators had agreed their roles in the last week, though had yet to formalise the arrangement.

The Wall Street Journal reported, meanwhile, that the FTC was also understood to be looking into Microsoft’s $650m deal with Inflection AI, a start-up.

So far, none of the parties have commented on the reports.

Regulators around the world are increasingly looking at the sudden explosion in AI. Last year, the FTC launched a probe into OpenAI over claims it had put personal data at risk. Then in January it ordered OpenAI, Microsoft, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon and start-up Anthropic to provide information on all recent deals involving generative AI companies and cloud service providers.

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority is expected to launch a formal investigation into Microsoft’ partnership with OpenAI after it opened an information gathering process in December.