Microsoft has told EU antitrust regulators that Google has a competitive edge in generative AI (GenAI) due to its mountains of data and AI chips, cementing the rivalry between the two US companies. 

Microsoft’s comments were made in response to a consultation launched by the EU to study the level of competition in GenAI. 

“Today, only one company – Google – is vertically integrated in a manner that provides it with strength and independence at every AI layer from chips to a thriving mobile app store,” a Microsoft spokesperson told regulators. “Everyone else must rely on partnerships to innovate and compete.”

Microsoft said that Google’s access to YouTube gives it a solid competitive advantage due to the 14 billion videos that its AI developers have access to. 

Alphabet-owned Google also responded to EU regulators, taking a hit back at Microsoft. 

A Google spokesperson said the company hoped the Commission’s study would “shine a light on companies that don’t offer the openness of Google Cloud or have a long history of locking in customers – and who are bringing that same approach to AI services.”

Microsoft has been in regulator crosshairs since it invested more than $10bn in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. The tech giant attempted to quell concerns about the flurry of tech giants investing heavily in start-ups.

“All of these start-ups relied on different forms of investments and partnerships that enabled them to enter and expand in the space,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

The tech giant noted Google and Amazon’s investments in AI company Anthropic and its own investment in France’s Mistral.

“Encouraging pro-competitive partnerships in the AI space is an effective way to prevent companies from becoming vertically integrated in a manner that would result in an anticompetitive advantage,” the spokesperson said.