US probes Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia over artificial intelligence plans

Under the deal, the justice department will take the lead in investigating whether Nvidia violated antitrust laws, while the FTC will examine the conduct of OpenAI and Microsoft. Picture: Michael Dwyer

The US Justice Department and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have reached a deal that allows them to proceed with investigations into the dominant roles Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia play in the artificial intelligence industry (AI), according to a source familiar with the matter.

Under the deal, the justice department will take the lead in investigating whether Nvidia violated antitrust laws, while the FTC will examine the conduct of OpenAI and Microsoft. While OpenAI’s parent is a nonprofit, Microsoft has invested $13bn (€12bn) in a for-profit subsidiary, for what would be a 49% stake. The partnership is also under informal scrutiny in other regions.

The regulators struck the deal over the past week and it is expected to be completed in the coming days, the person said. The FTC is also looking into Microsoft’s $650m deal with AI startup Inflection AI, a source said. Microsoft said it has complied with its legal obligations.

The moves signal growing regulatory scrutiny into the AI industry. In January, the FTC ordered OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Anthropic to provide information on recent investments and partnerships involving AI companies and cloud providers. Last July, the FTC opened an investigation into OpenAI on claims it had put personal reputations and data at risk.

Last week, US competition chief Jonathan Kanter referred to “structures and trends in AI that should give us pause”, and said it relies on massive amounts of data and computing power, which can give already-dominant firms a large advantage.

• Reuters