It is reported that Inflection AI is an artificial intelligence startup with a valuation of approximately $4 billion. Inflection AI was founded by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and has strong strength and innovation in the field of large models.

In March this year, Microsoft agreed to pay $650 million to AI startup Inflection AI to license its AI software, but Inflection AI still retains its proprietary technology. In addition, Microsoft will hire Inflection AI co-founders Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan, as well as most of the company's employees.

Industry experts pointed out that Microsoft acquired Inflection AI's core technology and team through this transaction, which is equivalent to a disguised acquisition of Inflection AI at a lower cost, further strengthening Microsoft's strength in the field of AI. The transaction has attracted the attention of antitrust agencies.

In April 2024, the UK antitrust regulator "Competition and Markets Authority" (CMA) began a preliminary investigation into the transaction between Microsoft and Inflection AI, and issued a comment invitation to relevant third parties to solicit their opinions on whether the transaction complies with UK merger regulations and its impact on market competition. This phase is mainly to collect opinions and evidence from inside and outside the industry to determine whether the transaction may have a substantial impact on market competition.

Subsequently, the CMA officially launched an investigation in July, focusing on Microsoft's hiring of some former employees of Inflection AI and the relevant arrangements reached by the two parties. The CMA is concerned that these actions may lead to "substantial reduction of competition", so further review is needed to ensure that market competition will not be harmed.

After a series of investigations and analyses, the CMA approved Microsoft's investment in Inflection AI on Wednesday (September 4), saying that the transaction did not require a deeper antitrust investigation. The CMA pointed out that Microsoft's hiring of former Inflection AI employees and its cooperation with the startup did not pose a threat to competition, so it would not conduct further investigations.

A Microsoft spokesperson said, "We are satisfied with the CMA's conclusion. After investigation and factual review, the CMA determined that our employee hiring does not raise competition concerns."

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