Arthur Mensch, cofounder and CEO of Mistral AI, was present at the UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit in Bletchley, England, shedding light on the increasing interest and scrutiny in the AI sector by regulatory bodies. Amidst this growing focus, the UK's Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has announced investigations into significant AI-related deals by tech giants Microsoft and Amazon, signaling heightened regulatory vigilance in the rapidly evolving AI market. The deals under scrutiny include Microsoft's partnership with French AI firm Mistral AI, its hiring of key personnel from another startup, Inflection AI, and Amazon’s substantial $4 billion investment in Anthropic, a San Francisco-based AI company.

Microsoft's engagement with Mistral AI, along with the recruitment of Mustafa Suleyman (a cofounder of Google's DeepMind) and key members from his AI startup Inflection, epitomizes the aggressive talent acquisition and partnership strategies employed by major tech companies to bolster their AI capabilities. Likewise, Amazon's minority stake purchase in Anthropic, aimed at collaborating on foundation models for generative AI systems, underscores the strategic investments by tech giants to secure a competitive edge in the AI domain.

These strategic moves have not only intensified the competition within the AI industry but have also drawn attention from antitrust authorities concerned about potential anti-competitive practices. The CMA's decision to investigate these deals reflects worries that such consolidations could limit competition in the UK's AI market. Big Tech's investment spree into AI startups, especially in technologies like generative AI, has raised alarms about the concentration of market power and the possible exclusionary effects it might have on smaller competitors.

The CMA has called for input from interested third parties as it contemplates a deeper antitrust investigation into these partnerships. According to Joel Bamford, CMA's executive director of mergers, the authority aims to objectively assess whether these deals align with UK merger rules and their implications on market competition. Microsoft and Amazon have expressed their willingness to cooperate with the CMA investigations, with Microsoft highlighting its belief that its practices promote, rather than hinder, competition.

Microsoft’s collaboration with Mistral AI, following its significant partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and Amazon's ambitious investment in Anthropic represent critical developments in the AI sector. These partnerships, aimed at developing foundational models for generative AI, have captured global interest but also signal the potential for market dominance by a few powerful players.

As the CMA steps up its surveillance of the foundation model market, its scrutiny of these deals could have far-reaching implications for the AI industry's competitive landscape. The outcome of these investigations may influence future partnerships and investments in AI, shaping the extent to which major tech companies can expand their influence in this innovative and critical technological domain.