UK competition regulator clears Alphabet&#8217;s investment in Anthropic

UK competition regulator clears Alphabet’s investment in Anthropic

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared Alphabet's partnership and investment in AI rival Anthropic, concluding it does not qualify for investigation under current merger rules.

[{"selector":"#anim-5912e7ae-4cbd-456c-b1b8-5395840d8d2a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c92890cb-119e-4558-9681-69037365a03c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 100.05266%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-85ed0adf-e4f8-422e-9edd-29eb6289cf0f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3d583ee9-b660-4f24-858a-067357e157b4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -181.69935%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c644348c-cfaf-494f-a6c0-e6de13b0d393","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7f37e058-1907-4b04-93e1-594ba2d4b93e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -348.53843%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] CMA's Decision on Alphabet's Investment in Anthropic

Alphabet reportedly invested $300 million in Anthropic early last year, followed by another $2 billion. The CMA was investigating these investments but found they did not qualify for further scrutiny.

[{"selector":"#anim-9899f0f3-7edd-4a35-b22d-f8e2acf32dd5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-da675b09-ba30-4434-9fc2-4b1a4175b3b2","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 100.05266%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-59861cfa-dde4-4b2f-9058-60c1e746fde9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-30db8ae5-28fa-4f60-be5a-45509cc2bb37","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -295.90656%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e9babd64-7fa1-483a-95da-7b001d87ef01","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-4dd7dab6-e039-405a-9be4-1daa65a9c851","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -177.49768%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Alphabet's Investments in Anthropic Download App

Anthropic had also courted investments from other tech giants like Amazon, which invested $4 billion. The CMA previously found Amazon's partnership with Anthropic did not require investigation.

[{"selector":"#anim-7af3992b-e374-4835-94ee-b5681dc4846c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8a2e5755-9a9f-4e96-921f-caae9882b78b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 100.05266%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-833cb6e0-8624-4362-bf0f-0b97f00764c3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1fe89910-8d8e-428a-a047-70b6605f1665","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -401.16997%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3e3564db-0285-4dd4-9cc2-229eed10a8ed","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d58d1479-671a-42cf-9c7d-b19b186e0d6c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -177.49768%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Anthropic's Partnerships with Big Tech Download App

These investigations are part of a broader probe into how big tech firms are gaining influence over younger AI startups, often through strategic investments rather than outright acquisitions.

[{"selector":"#anim-19fa3ee7-fe2c-4607-afc8-c281dd4845a7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-675d6761-258b-4738-90b3-58c1568409cf","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 100.05266%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-61f8aeba-1a8c-4afd-af41-d3c7c3a4ab50","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5566f6ab-eb35-464e-bf94-ed861562e1a6","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -348.53843%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3bafd0a6-e2c2-455c-abd5-4668f4a7bbcf","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6565245c-f9a3-464d-be8a-e9268eadb5b9","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -185.90103%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Probes into Big Tech's Approach to Innovation Download App