According to BlockBeats, Amazon and artificial intelligence research company Anthropic are currently under investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The investigation, which began on August 8, 2024, focuses on Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic and the exclusivity agreements between the two companies. The primary concern is whether Amazon's minority stake and the exclusivity terms constitute an anti-competitive partnership. The first phase of the investigation officially commenced on August 9, 2024, and the CMA is expected to announce by October 4, 2024, whether a more in-depth 'second phase' investigation will be pursued.
Previously, on March 28, 2024, Amazon announced an additional investment of $2.75 billion to support Anthropic, which is known for its Foundation model and chatbot Claude, both of which compete with OpenAI and ChatGPT. The two companies initially announced a $1.25 billion investment in September 2023, with Amazon committing to invest up to $4 billion. Anthropic recently launched its latest AI model, Claude 3, which the company claims is the fastest and most powerful AI model to date.