Discussion

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  Today's news of FTC, CMA and (no doubt @FooYunChee is right) EC looking into whether to investigate the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership as a merger shows how quickly it can happen that Microsoft has to talk to the same regulators again. That said they can't just be a victim either.

• @fooyunchee Foo Yun Chee on x

  Microsoft's role in OpenAI on EU antitrust regulators' radar https://www.reuters.com/... @Reuters @EUReuters @ReutersTech @ReutersBiz @ReutersLegal @thomsonreuters @reutersdeals

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  @WatchmensClctiv The legal concept is about acquiring control and that's not what happened here. If OpenAI's board had left Sam Altman alone or if the team had said “good riddance!”, Microsoft wouldn't have played any role.

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  Given that it's the early stages of the OpenAI-related process, no impropriety so far. Coordination/cooperation is allowed, not just in principle but to a huge extent. As former FTC commissioner Wilson once noted, however, there must be a line somewhere that must not be crossed.

• @jowens510 Jeremy C. Owens on x

  A day after I detailed how little Microsoft publicly discloses about its relationship with OpenAI, multiple regulators are seeking that information. UK inquiry: https://www.marketwatch.com/ ... FTC report: https://www.bloomberg.com/... My story: https://www.marketwatch.com/ ...

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  FTC and CMA in lockstep again.

• @cailen @cailen on x

  Been spouting this for years Microsoft is a monopoly. Nothing has changed since 2000.

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads

  The UK's antitrust regulator wants to investigate whether Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI (49% ownership of the non-profit and a non-voting board seat) counts as an acquisition that should face antitrust proceedings.  The CMA has requested comments from competitors. …

• @bradsmi Brad Smith on x

  ...The only thing that has changed is that Microsoft will now have a non-voting observer on OpenAI's Board, which is very different from an acquisition such as Google's purchase of DeepMind in the UK....

• @dinabass Dina Bass on x

  As regulators circle, Microsoft is arguing it doesn't have a traditional ownership stake in OpenAI. When it comes to determining if Microsoft has too much control, regulators may feel that's a distinction without a difference https://www.bloomberg.com/... by @leah_nylen and me

• @dominic2306 Dominic Cummings on x

  the CMA is another blundering ignorant menace to progress & productivity, it shd be closed & everyone fired like dozens of other agencies

• @zach_cer Zach Meyers on x

  Looks like the CMA is not done picking fightswith MS. This will be legally fascinating! On paper, MS's influence on OpenAI is small. But we've seen its reliance on Microsoft's resources and essential infrastructure — and the board's inability to pick its management in practice/1

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  I would phrase the CMA's question differently. It's not about whether recent developments show Microsoft has de facto control over OpenAI. It's whether Sam Altman has de facto control because the team is on his side. And that's not a relevant merger situation under a UK law.

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  The @CMAgovUK taking an interest in a Microsoft deal again. And this is not the kind of thing that would have required merger approval, but let's see where this is headed. And didn't expect to post about AI again so soon. 🤦‍♂️ As I mentioned, I may use a different account for it.

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  @USNAGator91 I want Google to be very successful with those efforts because competition in that space is key, and I think very highly of Google in many (though not all) ways. It could be that Google is behind this CMA thing, that they (and/or Amazon etc.) instigated this pre-inve…

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  Competition enforcers are often called “trustbusters”. That's interesting in the CMA-Microsoft-OpenAI context: In the end it seems the key factor was the team trusted Sam Altman; Sam Altman and the team trusted Microsoft: and vice versa. That's trust, but not a trust to bust.

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  Interesting reference here: so the UK was happy in 2014 to let Google acquire the UK's crown jewel in AI, and now the CMA is potentially taking issue with a relationship between two U.S. entities that is lightyears away from a merger.

• @florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x

  There we have the 3rd major regulator — the European Commission. Microsoft's role in OpenAI on EU antitrust regulators' radar https://www.reuters.com/... The fact that all three get interested still doesn't mean there's any issue here. It's a bit like with ABK: big not bad stuff.

• @haydnbelfield Haydn Belfield on x

  The CMA (UK antitrust regulator) is reviewing whether Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership counts as a *merger*! Fascinating 2 key criteria🧵: [image]

• @ryan_browne_ Ryan Browne on x

  Big news. The UK's CMA is the first regulator globally to start reviewing Microsoft's investment in and partnership with OpenAI. The CMA says it's seeking views from interest parties on whether the deal has created a “relevant merger situation.” https://www.cnbc.com/...

• @cmagovuk @cmagovuk on x

  CMA seeks views on Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI. Read more: https://www.gov.uk/...

• @dinabass Dina Bass on x

  With CMA, FTC looking at Microsoft's OpenAI investment, worth noting the $10B investment has an unusual structure rather than a traditional ownership stake https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @mhbergen Mark Bergen on x

  and @BradSmi was ready with a reply: “The only thing that has changed is that Microsoft will now have a non-voting observer on OpenAI's Board, which is very different from an acquisition such as Google's purchase of DeepMind in the UK.”