FTC and DOJ reportedly opening antitrust investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have agreed to share roles in investigating potential antitrust violations by Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia, The New York Times reported.

The DOJ will conduct investigations into Nvidia, while the FTC will review the deal between OpenAI and its largest investor, Microsoft.

The FTC began investigating potential antitrust issues related to investments made by technology companies in smaller AI companies in January of this year. The agency sent letters to Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Amazon are both investors in Anrópica.

On the edge sought comment from Microsoft and Nvidia but received no response. The FTC and DoJ declined to comment. OpenAI also declined to comment.

An investigation by the two agencies does not mean that the Biden administration is bringing charges against the three companies, but the Times pointed out that a similar deal in 2019 led to government lawsuits against Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta.

Update, June 6: It added that the DoJ and OpenAI declined to comment.