The US Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have agreed to proceed with antitrust investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia's dominance in the AI industry. Under the agreement, the Justice Department will focus on Nvidia's potential antitrust violations, while the FTC will examine Microsoft and OpenAI's conduct. Microsoft has a significant stake in OpenAI, having invested$13 billion in its for-profit subsidiary.

The regulators' deal, expected to be finalised soon, reflects increased scrutiny of the AI sector. The FTC is also investigating Microsoft's$650 million deal with AI startup Inflection AI. This action follows a January order requiring several tech giants, including Microsoft and OpenAI, to provide information on AI investments and partnerships.

Why does it matter?

Last year, the FTC began investigating OpenAI for potential consumer protection law violations. US antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter recently expressed concerns about the AI industry's reliance on vast data and computing power, which could reinforce the dominance of major firms. Microsoft, OpenAI, Nvidia, the Justice Department, and the FTC have not commented on the ongoing investigations.