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ARTICLE · 04 JUNE 2025

Open And Shut? Lessons From The CMA's Microsoft/OpenAI Merger Inquiry

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Following an extensive 15-month investigation, the CMA concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to review Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI.

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Caja Griesenbach
Caja Griesenbach
Matthew Jones
Matthew Jones
Greg Dowell
Greg Dowell

Following an extensive 15-month investigation, the CMA concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to review Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI. We consider below the implications of this decision for future cases concerning changes in the nature of control over time, and what this might tell us about the CMA's approach to similar partnerships in the AI space going forward.

Introduction

OpenAI develops and supports several leading AI foundation models (FMs1), as well as FM-based services–notably the "chatbot" ChatGPT. OpenAI was established as a for-profit company in 2019 by OpenAI, Inc. (OpenAI Nonprofit), a non-profit AI research and development organisation that continues to control the day-to-day management of OpenAI.

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