The European Commission wants to take a closer look at Microsoft’s investments in OpenAI

The European Commission will investigate whether Microsoft violated antitrust laws with its investments in OpenAI. The Commission first collects advice and input from those involved and also looks at other AI investments.

According to European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager the Commission will take a look or Microsoft investment in OpenAI ‘can be assessed against European takeover regulations’. Vestager does not mention a specific reason for the investigation, but says that ‘effective enforcement of European market legislation is essential’ to maintain competition within the European Union. She refers to investments in artificial intelligence and generative AI in the Union, which amounted to around 7.2 billion euros in 2023.

The European Commission will look at ‘some of the agreements concluded between major digital market parties and generative AI developers and providers’. “The European Commission is investigating the impact of these collaborations on market dynamics,” Vestager writes.

The European Commission is asking ‘all stakeholders’ for feedback on virtual worlds and generative AI and how they see the role of market forces in those domains. The EC has specifically asked questions to ‘several large digital players’, which it does not mention by name.

Based on that input, the Commission intends to hold further discussions in the second quarter of the year. An official antitrust investigation may then be initiated.