UK watchdog probes Alphabet’s deal with Anthropic

Britain’s antitrust watchdog launched a probe on Thursday into Google parent Alphabet’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

Almost two years after Microsoft-backed OpenAI triggered an AI boom with the release of ChatGPT, regulators around the world have been increasingly concerned by deals struck between big tech companies and smaller startups.

Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, last year said it had secured a $500 million investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5 billion over time.