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The probe comes three months after the CMAconfirmedit was inviting “ interested parties ” to notice on Alphabet ’s various investments in Anthropic , which includes areported $ 300 millionearly last yearfollowed by another reported $ 2 billion .
The probe being launched now is part ofa multi - pronged investigationdesigned to undertake the so - calledquasi - merger , which has watch Big Tech firmstake a fresh approach to hit controlof innovative unseasoned startups by , for good example , take inauguration founders and expert talent , as well as fix strategic investments .
Beyond Alphabet ’s own investment in Anthropic , the 3 - year - old San Francisco startup has been courting other gravid - name investors , including Amazon , which hasinvested $ 4 billion in the startup . The CMA had been sniffing around that partnership , too , but last calendar month it concluded that itcouldn’t look into the dealunder current merger ruler due to the size and scope of the deal .
The fact that the CMA has decided that Alphabet ’s investment in the same startup does qualify as a “ relevant fusion site ” is telling . It suggests that the terms of Alphabet ’s investment in Anthropic are unlike from those of Amazon ’s , or that Alphabet ’s deal will harm competition in a means that the Amazon partnership would n’t .
In a program line issued to TechCrunch , a spokesperson for Alphabet subsidiary Google tell that “ Anthropic is gratis to utilise multiple cloud supplier and does , and we do n’t demand undivided tech rights . ”
The CMA , meanwhile , articulate it has “ sufficient information ” regarding the partnership to begin an investigation before deciding whether to refer the case to a more in - profundity “ phase angle 2 ” investigation . This decision is expected by December 19 , 2024 .
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An Anthropic interpreter said that it signify to cooperate with the CMA .
“ We are an autonomous company and none of our strategical partnership or investor relationship lessen the independence of our corporate governance or our exemption to partner with others , ” they say . “ Anthropic ’s independence is a core dimension — integral both to ourpublic benefitmission and to serving our customer wherever and however they choose to accessClaude . ”
