Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of Inflection AI, joined Microsoft as CEO of Microsoft AI in March and shared” many” employees with him. Now, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA ) has opened an inquiry into whether this and Microsoft’s other deals with Inflection should be considered anti-competitive.
The CMA has until Sept. 11, 2024 to decide whether to continue the research.
Why Microsoft hiring from Tone drew the CMA’s interest
The CMA wrote on July 16 to ask “whether it is or may be that Microsoft Corporation’s getting of some past Tone employees and its entrance into related arrangements with Inflection has resulted in the creation of a related consolidation condition.”
If therefore, the combined company may make a” significant weakening of competitors within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”, the CMA wrote, which may fall under the agency’s control.
A Microsoft spokesman said in a statement to the BBC that” we are confident that the hiring of talent promotes competition and should n’t be treated as a merger.”
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The CMA continues its research into “interconnected web” of AI firms
The intricate web of interconnectedness between AI people is highlighted by the research. Suleyman formerly worked at Google DeepMind, therefore co-founded tone alongside Karén Simonyan. ( Simoyan transitioned to Microsoft AI as Suleyman’s chief scientist. )
Pi, a “kind and friendly companion,” is created by Inflection AI as a relational AI chatbot. On Microsoft Azure, it houses Inflection 2.5, the dominant language type behind Pi.
In April, the CMA made an eye contact with Inflection AI as part of a plea to remark on” AI partnerships and other preparations.” Particularly, the CMA highlighted many relationships between big tech companies and Iot startups:
- Microsoft and Mistral AI.
- Amazon and Anthropic.
- Microsoft and Inflection AI.
The CMA has also been researching OpenAI. The CMA wrote in April that close ties between people in the AI business” may be exacerbating existing opportunities of market strength through the FMs]foundation models ] worth network.” According to the CMA in April, the AI industry is” an interconnected web of over 90 collaborations and tactical opportunities involving the same companies.”
