The Federal Trade Commission is investigating tech companies’ payments to artificial intelligence developers.

The agency announced Thursday that it had issued orders to Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI to learn more about their partnerships.

What You Need To Know

  • The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it is investigating tech companies' payments to artificial intelligence developers

  • The agency has issued orders to Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI

  • The investigation will help the FTC understand how the companies' relationships impact competition

  • The companies have 45 days to respond

“History shows that new technologies can create new markets and healthy competition. As companies race to develop and monetize AI, we must guard against tactics that foreclose this opportunity," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement.

As part of its inquiry, the FTC is trying to understand how the companies’ relationships impact competition. What the FTC learns could be used to develop future regulations.

“Our study will shed light on whether investments and partnerships pursued by dominant companies risk distorting innovation and undermining fair competition,” Khan said.

The inquiry order was sent to five companies involved in three multi-billion-dollar investments, the FTC said. Microsoft is reported to have invested $13 billion in OpenAI. Amazon has invested about $4 billion in Anthropic, and Google has invested $2 billion.

“The U.S. has assumed a global AI leadership position because important American companies are working together. Partnerships between independent companies like Microsoft and OpenAI, as well as, among many others, are promoting competition and accelerating innovation. We look forward to providing the FTC with the information it needs to complete its study," Microsoft corporate vice president, competition and market regulation group, Rima Alaily told Spectrum News.

Anthropic and OpenAI both told Spectrum News they had no comment about the order. 

The FTC is giving the companies 45 days to respond to its questions about the strategic rationale for the partnerships and how their investments will affect new product releases and competition.