The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began gathering information on the relationship between Google parent Alphabet and AI player Anthropic, as it mulls whether the partnership falls under merger regulations.

Ahead of potentially launching a formal investigation, the regulator is inviting comments from interested parties on the relationship between the companies with a deadline of 13 August.

Announcing the move, the CMA said it was “considering whether it is or may be the case that Alphabet’s partnership with Anthropic has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation” under UK business law.

If it is deemed to be, the authority will probe whether it “may be expected” to result in a substantial lessening of market competition for any goods or services in the country.

The move is the latest look by the authority at the AI ecosystem and deals between its major players and US technology giants.

It has an ongoing investigation into Microsoft’s hiring of staff from Inflection AI and, in December 2023, made preliminary enquiries into the same tech giant’s relationship with open AI.

In April, it started gathering opinions about Amazon’s relationship with Anthropic, while it also took an initial look at Microsoft’s partnership with Mistral AI before deciding against a full investigation.   

Last week, the CMA committed to a set of principles on AI competitiveness alongside peers from the US and European Union, where partnerships between big tech and emerging AI players have also sparked the interest of regulators.