The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is pushing to unwind Google‘s partnership with AI startup Anthropic as part of an antitrust case concerning online search, Bloomberg reports.
The proposal suggests barring Google from acquiring or collaborating with companies influencing consumer search, including AI products. This move is anticipated to challenge Google’s investment in Anthropic.
The DoJ proposal is part of a broader strategy to address Google’s alleged monopoly in online search.
In the court filing, antitrust enforcers have also recommended that Google must divest Chrome, citing a judge’s earlier ruling that the browser “fortified” Google’s dominance.
Google has not commented directly on the Anthropic provision but criticised the overall proposal in a blog post.
In the post, Google stated that the remedy could “chill” its artificial intelligence (AI) investments and “jeopardise America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most.”
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By GlobalDataGoogle committed to a $2bn investment in Anthropic in 2023, securing non-voting shares and consultation rights on major business issues.
Google is already an investor in Anthropic, which has created a chatbot, dubbed Claude, a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Prior to this funding, a cloud agreement was also signed between the two companies.
Anthropic received an additional $4bn investment from Amazon, raising regulatory concerns about Big Tech’s influence in the AI sector.
The UK’s antitrust authority reviewed Google’s Anthropic deal, concluding that it did not require further investigation.