The Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal regulators will open an antitrust investigation into Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI over their roles in the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.
The DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation This was first reported on Wednesday by The New York Timeshave already sent subpoenas to a number of companies as investigations begin.
The DOJ will lead an investigation into Nvidia, while the FTC will investigate OpenAI and Microsoft. Microsoft is OpenAI's largest investor and has made other significant efforts in the industry. These steps are the most important regulatory measures in the artificial intelligence industry as calls for regulation grow louder.
The Microsoft investigation will focus on how the company structured a recent contract with startup Inflection AI, including hiring its founder, much of its staff and licensing its technology. The Wall Street Journal reports this. Regulators believe the deal may have been structured to circumvent rules surrounding takeovers.
A Microsoft spokesperson told The Hill that the company is confident it is complying with all regulations.
“Our agreements with Inflection gave us the opportunity to recruit individuals to Inflection AI and build a team capable of accelerating Microsoft Copilot, while allowing Inflection to continue pursuing its independent operations and ambition as an AI studio,” the company said. spokesman. “We take our legal obligations to report transactions under the HSR Act seriously and are confident that we have met these obligations.”
The Biden administration has done the same calling for more regulation of the AI industry, wary that top tech companies could quickly gain a stranglehold on the developing technology.
The FTC previously launched a similar investigation in January into Microsoft, Amazon and Google's investments in OpenAI and AI startup Anthropic.
FTC Chair Lina Khan said at the time that the agency would investigate deals that “enable dominant companies to exert undue influence or gain privileged access in ways that could undermine fair competition.”
Nvidia's investigation will focus on its chip manufacturing and distribution agreements. The company's shares are one of the fastest growing on the market and its price has more than quadrupled in the past year.
The Hill has contacted Inflection AI.
The FTC and DOJ declined to comment.
Julia Shapero contributed.
