Microsoft dodges EU probe over US$13b OpenAI deal: Bloomberg
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The news: The European Union’s competition regulators will not pursue a formal investigation into Microsoft’s USD13 billion ($20.26 billion) investment into AI startup OpenAI.
The numbers: OpenAI most recently achieved a valuation of over USD80 billion in February, when it sold existing shares in a ‘tender offer’ led by VC firm Thrive Capital.
The context: In January, the European Commission announced that it was looking in to the relationship between the tech giants, after a leadership controversy late last year exposed its interconnected ties. The OpenAI board dramatically ousted CEO Sam Altman, only for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to offer Altman (and all of his loyal staff) a position at Microsoft. Nadella also advocated for Altman to be reinstated at OpenAI, and the board eventually agreed to reinstate him, along with adding new board members and Microsoft as a nonvoting observer.
According to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, the European Commission has decided that the investment does not merit a formal probe as it falls short of a takeover, and that Microsoft does not control the direction of OpenAI.
A Commission spokesperson told Bloomberg that in order to assess potential concerns over competition, the regulator would first need to determine that “there has been a change of control on a lasting basis” between the firms.
The source: Bloomberg
