Brits end probe into Microsoft's $13B bankrolling of OpenAI

Redmond doesn't have total control over GPT maker so we lack authority, say monopoly cops

The UK's investigation into competition concerns arising from Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI has reached a conclusion, albeit an anticlimactic one in which officials have left loose ends.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today confirmed the closure of its examinination into Microsoft's alliance with OpenAI, conducted as a merger inquiry, after deciding it didn't qualify for additional digging under that scope.

This is despite the CMA's conclusion that Microsoft "exerts a high level of material influence" over OpenAI's commercial policy. Yet as it's not a controlling influence there's no relevant merger situation to be scrutinized further, and so the CMA lacks jurisdiction.

"The CMA has not had to conclude on whether the other criteria for establishing a relevant merger situation are met," the decision document states. "The CMA has also not had to conclude on whether the Partnership has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a [substantial lessening of competition] in the UK."

"A finding that the Partnership does not give rise to a relevant merger situation does not constitute a finding that no competition concerns arise from its operation," the CMA added. 

Microsoft and OpenAI, predictably, celebrated confirmation of the investigation being shuttered.

"Our OpenAI partnership and its continued evolution promote competition, innovation, and responsible AI development, and we welcome the CMA's conclusion, after careful and prudent consideration of the commercial realities, to close its investigation," a Microsoft spokesperson told The Register. 

"We welcome the CMA's decision to close its investigation after its thoughtful evaluation," OpenAI told us. "OpenAI operates in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving industry, and we are focused on developing AI that is safe and beneficial for everyone."

Microsoft has plowed more than $13 billion into a "partnership" with OpenAI since 2019, with the biggest sum ($10 billion) coming in January 2023. Other cloud giants have similarly invested billions of dollars in AI start-ups, with Anthropic, for example, attracting funding from AWS and Google. The CMA is still pouring over Amazon's relationship with Anthropic.

The CMA's decision today echoes the European Commission's conclusion in April 2024 that while Microsoft had influence over OpenAI, it did not have much control at first glance.

The EC has nonetheless vowed to continue digging into the matter, with former Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager saying last June that she was concerned agreements like Microsoft's with OpenAI were merely a way to avoid merger scrutiny.

"We have to make sure that partnerships like this do not become a disguise for one partner getting a controlling influence over the other," Vestager noted at the time.

The US Federal Trade Commission has also looked into competition concerns stemming from partnerships and investments between tech giants and AI startups with many of the same root concerns as the CMA and EC. Like the European reviews, the FTC examined whether tie ups acted as de facto mergers that put big tech in control and lessened competition. 

The FTC released a report on the matter days before President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, concluding that while there were reasons to monitor the deals, it would not take further investigative action.

"The FTC's report sheds light on how partnerships by big tech firms can create lock-in, deprive start-ups of key AI inputs, and reveal sensitive information that can undermine fair competition," then-FTC chair Lina Khan said.

We've reached out to the FTC to learn whether it is still investigating the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership.

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