The decision comes weeks after Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has requested opinions on the merger. The CMA said the Mistral partnership was not eligible for investigation under market merger regulations.
In April, the CMA sought comment on the partnership, as well as the separate ties between Microsoft and Inflection AI. He also requested information on the merger between Amazon and Anthropic, according to the Reuters news agency. The company led by Satya Nadella also invested in OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT.
What the CMA and Microsoft say
“The CMA has considered the information submitted by Microsoft and Mistral AI, as well as the comments received in response to its invitation to comment,” a CMA spokesperson said.
“Based on the evidence, the CMA does not believe that Microsoft gained significant influence over Mistral AI as a result of the partnership and therefore cannot be investigated,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, a Microsoft spokesperson said investment and partnership are essential for new players in the AI economy.
“We welcome the CMA’s determination that our fractional investment and partnership with Mistral AI is not considered a merger or acquisition,” the spokesperson added.
European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestagerwhich studies Big Tech partnerships with AI start-ups, met with Mistral AI last month.
“We need dynamic competition in AI now,” she wrote on X after the meeting.
