FTC and Justice Department Reportedly Consider Microsoft and OpenAI Probe

The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department are reportedly in discussions over which agency can investigate OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft.

As reported by Politico, the FTC and Justice Department opened talks several months ago to assess which one can initiate an antitrust probe into the issue. However, neither regulatory body wants to concede jurisdiction to the other — a contention that must be addressed before any official investigation into #openai and #microsoft can begin.

The basis for an antitrust investigation, allegedly, is the ambiguity of Microsoft and OpenAI’s status.

Microsoft has invested around $13 billion in OpenAI over the past four years, but these mooted probes arrive two months after November’s dramatic OpenAI saga, in which its CEO Sam Altman was ousted by its board before being reinstated just four days later following intense pressure from both employees and investors.

It isn’t the first time an investigation has been formalised either. Just before Christmas, across the pond, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority announced it was probing Microsoft and OpenAI’s dynamic.

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