Microsoft's investment in OpenAI may be subject to EU antitrust scrutiny

The European Union's antitrust regulator, the 'European Commission', said on Tuesday that theMicrosoft corporationFinancial support for OpenAI, the developer of AI chatbot ChatGPT, may be subject to EU merger and acquisition regulations.

Last year, Microsoft pledged to invest more than $10 billion in OpenAI, but would not receive voting rights. Microsoft also said it does not own any shares in OpenAI. The European Commission said in a statement, "We are assessing whether Microsoft's investment in OpenAI is reviewable under the EU's merger and acquisition regulation."

The European Commission also said it is investigating the impact on market dynamics of a number of agreements between large digital market players and generative AI developers and providers, without naming the companies. EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: 'We invite companies and experts to tell us about any competition issues they may have identified in these sectors, and also to keep a close eye on collaborations in the field of AI to ensure that they do not unduly distort competition in the marketplace.'