Microsoft’s OpenAI investment risks merger probe, say EU regulators

Microsoft’s financial backing for ChatGPT maker OpenAI may be subject to EU merger rules, EU antitrust regulators said on Tuesday, underscoring a similar warning from its UK peer in December.

The U.S. software giant, which last year committed to invest over $10 billion into OpenAI with a non-voting position on the board, has said it does not own any portion of OpenAI.

The European Commission had previously said it was following developments closely.

“The European Commission is checking whether Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI might be reviewable under the EU Merger Regulation,” the EU executive, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, said in a statement.