Microsoft

’s partnership with OpenAI does not need an antitrust investigation, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said, as the regulator concluded its investigation into the collaboration. It stated that the tech giant does not have the level of control over OpenAI that would warrant further scrutiny.
According to a report by news agency Reuters, the partnership, initiated in 2019 with a $1 billion investment from Microsoft, has faced antitrust concerns in both the UK and the US. Concerns were further fueled by a 2023 boardroom battle at OpenAI that led to the temporary ousting and subsequent return of CEO Sam Altman.
The CMA determined that while Microsoft gained significant influence over OpenAI in 2019, it has not acquired “de facto control” over the AI company. Therefore, the partnership does not fall under the UK's merger control regime.
However, the CMA emphasised that this conclusion “does not constitute a finding that no competition concerns arise from its operation.”

A Microsoft spokesperson welcomed the CMA's decision, stating that the partnership with OpenAI promotes “competition, innovation, and responsible AI development.”
“We welcome the CMA's conclusion, after careful and prudent consideration of the commercial realities, to close its investigation,” the spokesperson added.
The CMA has been actively scrutinising collaborations between major tech companies and AI startups in recent years, including partnerships between Microsoft and Mistral AI, Amazon and Anthropic, and Google and Anthropic. None of these partnerships have met the threshold for a full merger control investigation.
This comes as a federal judge denied Elon Musk’s request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company, saying that “Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits” in his request for a preliminary injunction.