EU Commission Explores Microsoft’s OpenAI Investment

The 49% interest that Microsoft holds in OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, may soon be subject to examination in Europe.

The European Commission has indicated that it intends to investigate whether or not the investments made by the Redmond company in the artificial intelligence company are eligible for scrutiny following the EU Merger Regulation.

The commission declared a call for contributions on competition in “virtual worlds” and artificial intelligence in a document published on the website of the European Union on January 9th.

In addition, the commission submitted “requests for information to several large digital players,” without disclosing the businesses, organizations, or persons approached.

The commission stated that it is investigating agreements concluded between large digital market players and generative AI developers and providers. However, the commission did not specify the businesses being investigated in this regard.

Concerning Microsoft and OpenAI, however, the commission made it quite apparent that Microsoft has reportedly invested at least thirteen billion dollars in OpenAI in exchange for 49% stake in the company.

Finally, the European Commission is checking whether Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI might be reviewable under the EU Merger Regulation.”

Although this level of equity does not meet the criteria of a full merger, the commission could likely take into consideration Microsoft’s recent involvement in OpenAI’s dismissal of Sam Altman and subsequent rehiring of Altman as an indicative factor.

According to a report, Conflicts between Altman and at least one member of the company’s board of directors led to his termination on November 17, 2023 and he was rehired after a CEO shuffle that saw Mira Murati, who was the company’s CTO at the time, briefly take over as head.

However,Just a few days later, Emmett Shear, also a co-founder of Twitch, replaced her.

However, by the 30th of November in the year 2023, Shear once again left the company, and Altman was reinstated to his previous position, Microsoft intervened and took the initiative to offer Altman a position of leadership.

Despite the European Commission’s threat to investigate Microsoft’s funding in OpenAI, there is no guarantee of any regulatory or legal action being taken and most likely not be the first time that the Redmond Corporation has come into contact with European merger law.

Microsoft faced inquiries and attempted to fulfill requirements from both the European Union and the United Kingdom governments, causing a delay of almost a year in the acquisition of gaming firm Activision-Blizzard after everything was said and done, the takeover was successfully completed in October 2023.