British competition regulators have announced that they will be closely examining recent artificial intelligence deals involving tech giants Microsoft and Amazon. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is specifically looking into Microsoft's partnership with Mistral AI from France and their hiring of key staff from Inflection AI, as well as Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic based in San Francisco.

The CMA expressed concerns that these deals could potentially hinder competition within the AI industry, as Big Tech companies continue to pour money into generative AI startups. Microsoft defended their actions, stating that hiring talent and making investments in AI startups are common business practices that promote competition and should not be considered mergers.

Microsoft's recent moves include hiring Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google's DeepMind AI research lab, to lead their consumer artificial intelligence business, as well as partnering with Mistral AI and OpenAI. Mistral AI, a rapidly growing AI startup in France, assured that they will cooperate with the CMA throughout the investigation to maintain their independence and market access.

On the other hand, Amazon's collaboration with Anthropic to develop foundation models for generative AI systems has also come under scrutiny. Amazon emphasized that their partnership with Anthropic is unique, as it involves a limited investment without giving Amazon a board director or observer role in the company.

The CMA has stated that they are increasing their scrutiny of the market for foundation models, citing concerns that powerful companies could leverage partnerships with key AI players to strengthen their market positions. Both Microsoft and Amazon have pledged to provide the CMA with the necessary information for the investigation, as the regulators seek input from interested third parties before deciding on further action.