LONDON (Reuters) – Microsoft’s recent acquisition of talent and technology from AI startup Inflection has caught the attention of British regulators. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a due diligence investigation into the tech giant’s recruitment practices and partnership with the company.
The move comes amid growing global concern over potential anti-competitive practices in the rapidly growing AI industry. Microsoft is increasingly scrutinizing its partnerships with small AI startups. The company hired former Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleiman to lead its new AI division and brought several Inflection employees on board.
Microsoft reportedly paid Inflection $650 million, giving startups access to AI models. However, Microsoft believes that talent recruitment encourages competition and has pledged to cooperate fully with the CMA review.
The CMA has until September 11 to decide whether to deepen the investigation. This development adds to the pressure Microsoft faces, as it is already experimenting with partnerships with other AI leaders such as OpenAI and Mistral AI.
