Microsoft-OpenAI partnership comes under US and UK antitrust scrutiny
ChatGPT maker OpenAI is under US and UK antitrust scrutiny, the British regulator and a media report said on Friday, following the startup's boardroom battle that led to the sudden ouster and return of CEO Sam Altman. After the dramatic episode last month, Microsoft, a major OpenAI backer, was granted a non-voting, observer position at the company by a new three-member initial board. Microsoft's representative can attend OpenAI's board meetings and access confidential information, but cannot vote on matters including electing or choosing directors.
The companies have not revealed who from Microsoft will take the non-voting position and what a final OpenAI board would look like. OpenAI's parent is a non-profit company, a type of entity rarely subject to antitrust scrutiny. In 2019 it set up a for-profit subsidiary, in which Microsoft owns a 49% stake, according to a source.
But a Microsoft spokesperson disputed that on Friday, saying details of its agreement were confidential, that it does not "own any portion" of OpenAI, and is entitled to a share of profits. The software giant has committed to pumping more than $10 billion into the startup, allowing it to take the lead in a race for AI revenue with Alphabet's Google. "There have recently been a number of developments in the governance of OpenAI, some of which involved Microsoft," the UK Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday.
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