After 14 months, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority concluded the Microsoft-OpenAI deal does not warrant a full investigation under U.K. merger rules.

Looking at the evidence in the round (including the recent changes), we have found that there has not been a change of control by Microsoft from material influence to de facto control over OpenAI'

The U.K.'s competition authority says Microsoft's OpenAI partnership doesn't qualify for investigation under the country's anticompetitive practices law.

Microsoft Corp.’s $13 billion investment into OpenAI Inc. was cleared by the UK’s antitrust watchdog, ending months of uncertainty over the tie-up.

The Competition and Markets Authority has ruled that the relationship between the two companies “does not qualify for investigation” under merger rules. The CMA said in 2023 that it was assessing whether Microsoft’s $13 billion investment into the AI startup gave it de facto control over OpenAI policy.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Wednesday it has dropped its review of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, saying it’s satisfied that the deal doesn’t need a closer investigation under the country’s merger rules.

The UK competition watchdog has ended its investigation into the partnership between Microsoft and the maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was looking into whether Microsoft's relationship with what is the world's best known artificial intelligence (AI) firm changed after the turmoil which saw its boss Sam Altman fired and then rehired.

After 14 months, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority concluded the Microsoft-OpenAI deal does not warrant a full investigation under U.K. merger rules.

Changing nature of the relationship between the two might have been ‘just the lever the CMA needed to close the investigation’ says analyst.