The UK Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a "merger inquiry" into the deal between Amazon and Anthropic.
The deal, announced in September 2023, saw Amazon commit to investing $4 billion into Anthropic, along with a commitment from Anthropic to make Amazon Web Services (AWS) its primary cloud provider for mission-critical workloads, including safety research and future foundation model development.
At the time of the September announcement, Amazon provided a $1.25bn injection into Anthropic. The following March, the company invested another $2.75bn.
The CMA expressed concern surrounding the Anthropic/Amazon deal in April 2024, at the time inviting the companies to comment. It has ultimately decided to launch a full investigation, commencing August 8, stating that it is: "considering whether it is or may be the case that Amazon's partnership with Anthropic has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation."
The authority is also conducting a similar investigation into Google's partnership with Anthropic, which was launched last week.
An Amazon Spokesperson said that the company was "disappointed" in the decision.
In an email to DCD, Amazon added: "Amazon's collaboration with Anthropic does not raise any competition concerns or meet the CMA's own threshold for review. The early days of generative AI have largely seen one successful option available for customers. Anthropic has worked hard to become an emerging viable alternative.
"But, building models is expensive, and companies like Anthropic need access to a substantial amount of capital to train these models. By investing in Anthropic, Amazon, along with other companies, is helping Anthropic expand choice and competition in this important technology. Amazon holds no board seat nor decision-making power at Anthropic, and Anthropic is free to work with any other provider (and indeed has multiple partners)."
Anthropic's statement, shared with The Register, said: "We are an independent company. Our strategic partnerships and investor relationships do not diminish our corporate governance independence or our freedom to partner with others... We intend to cooperate with the CMA and provide them with a comprehensive understanding of Amazon's investment and our commercial collaboration."
The current investigation is merely phase one. The probe is "for the purposes of deciding whether to make a reference for a phase 2 investigation," which would be more in-depth. A decision regarding whether a phase two investigation is necessary is due by October 4, 2024.
Across the Atlantic in the US, the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into hyperscale investments in AI Firms, targeting the likes of OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Anthropic, in January 2024.
