Democrats demand information from Microsoft, Google on AI deals
A pair of Senate Democrats are calling on Microsoft and Google to share more information on their separate partnerships with artificial intelligence (AI) companies, expressing concerns the collaborations could violate antitrust laws.
In letters sent Monday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), wrote to the leaders of Google and Microsoft — two cloud service providers — requesting additional information on their respective partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI.
"We are concerned that corporate partnerships within the AI sector discourage competition, circumvent our antitrust laws, and result in fewer choices and higher prices for businesses and consumers using AI tools," the Democratic lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers ask Google and Microsoft to disclose how much the AI companies have paid the companies for their computing resources, if the deals give the companies exclusive rights to license the AI models and whether talent is being shared between the companies.
In addition to developing its own AI technologies, Google has invested into other AI startups, including Anthropic, where it owns 14 percent of the company. The New York Times reported last month that Google does not hold any voting rights, board seats or board observers rights at Anthropic, but has invested more than $3 billion into the AI startup.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has invested billions into OpenAI, the maker of the popular chatbot ChatGPT. As a result, Microsoft has incorporated OpenAI's models into its products while the AI developer has access to Microsoft's computing resources.
The lawmakers cite a report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in January, which warned such partnerships could pose "risks to competition and consumers," including "locking in the market dominance of large incumbent technology firms."
The report was issued shortly before President Trump took office in January and looked at partnerships between cloud service providers and AI developers. While it did not go into specifics about either of the partnerships in the letters, the report suggested such deals raise the possibility the providers could eventually fully acquire the AI developers.
"Partnerships between CSPs and AI developers, if left unchecked, may accelerate consolidation of the AI sector, ultimately driving up prices and choking off innovation," Warren and Wyden wrote.
Microsoft declined to comment. The other companies did not immediately respond to The Hill's inquiries.
The Biden administration carried out various antitrust enforcement efforts against several Big Tech companies and the Trump White House appears to be on the same track.
The Justice Department indicated last month it is still seeking a breakup of Google, while the FTC said in February it would continue to use the merger guidelines established in 2023 under former President Biden.