Microsoft, Nvidia to Face US Antitrust Probes Over AI Moves

Bloomberg Law

The US is opening antitrust investigations into two of the world’s most valuable companies, Microsoft Corp. and Nvidia Corp., over their dominance of the rapidly emerging field of artificial intelligence, according to people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft has poured more than $13 billion into its partnership with OpenAI, tapping the startup’s generative-AI technology for the Bing search service, Edge internet browser and Windows. Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chipmaker, has acknowledged allocating its chips to customers it deems most likely to use them quickly, prompting concerns that it has too much power over the market for cutting-edge AI semiconductors.

The country’s two antitrust agencies also agreed to divide responsibility over AI. The Federal Trade Commission will handle the inquiry into Microsoft’s ties with OpenAI, while the Justice Department will probe Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing inter-agency negotiations. The DOJ will retain oversight of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, the people said.