UK’s CMA clears Google-Anthropic partnership
Alphabet’s collaboration with Anthropic does not qualify as a merger, according to the CMA.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided against investigating the partnership between Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and AI startup Anthropic. Following a detailed review, the CMA found the agreement did not qualify as a merger under UK competition law.
Concerns over competition prompted the CMA to scrutinise the deal, focusing on whether it gave Alphabet control over Anthropic’s business. The authority concluded that Alphabet’s involvement, including financial support and computing resources, did not result in material influence or loss of independence for Anthropic.
The agreement includes Google providing Anthropic with cloud services, distributing its AI models, and offering convertible debt financing. While the partnership is significant, Anthropic’s UK turnover fell below the £70m threshold required for it to qualify as a merger.
This ruling follows similar CMA decisions involving tech companies and AI startups, including clearing Microsoft’s investment in Mistral and Amazon’s $4bn stake in Anthropic. The watchdog remains vigilant about potential anti-competitive practices in the rapidly growing AI sector.
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