Federal regulators strike deal: AI giants Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia face antitrust investigations, says report
New York Times report.The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized the deal over the past week, with completion expected in the coming days. According to two sources familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the discussions, the Justice Department will lead the investigation into Nvidia, the top maker of AI chips.
At the same time, the FTC will focus on OpenAI and Microsoft. The report added that Microsoft has invested $13 billion in OpenAI and made deals with other AI companies.Also Read | Microsoft layoffs: Tech giant announces job cuts; 1,000 employees to be laid offThe agreement signals increased scrutiny from both the Justice Department and the FTC into AI, a technology advancing rapidly and potentially impacting jobs, information, and people's lives significantly.
Both agencies have been proactive in the Biden administration's efforts to control the power of major tech companies. In a similar deal in 2019, the government investigated Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta, subsequently suing each for alleged antitrust violations, the New York Times report added.Also Read | Oppo collaborates with Google, Microsoft, and MediaTek for AI innovation; files over 5,000 patents globallyFor months, Nvidia, Microsoft, and OpenAI largely avoided the Biden administration's regulatory focus.
However, this began to shift as generative AI, capable of producing human-like text, photos, videos, and audio, gained prominence in late 2022, sparking an industry frenzy, as per the report.Also Read | Microsoft President Brad Smith warns of ‘Deepfake’ threat in European elections, urges cautionRegulators recently indicated a desire to address developments in AI preemptively. In
. Read more on livemint.com
