The UK’s competition watchdog has decided to cease its investigation into the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI following a conclusion of its proceedings.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probed the deal to see if it would have adverse affects on competition in the AI market following the tumultuous period when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was fired and then rehired.

The CMA was concerned that this apparent 360 in leadership may change the affects of the deal with Microsoft.

However, despite Microsoft’s investment – which gained it many exlusive rights to OpenAI’s products – the CMA concluded that the partnership had not changed and is therefore already approved by the UK’s merger regulations.

When the CMA first opened the case in December 2023, it was concerned that Microsoft had pressured OpenAI to reinstate Altman as its chief just days after he had been fired by the company’s board.

The watchdog was concerned that Microsoft had “increased its control over OpenAI’s commercial polciy,” embolded by the billions it had invested in the company.

Following an investigation, however, the watchdog concluded that Microsoft does not fully control OpenAI’s commercial policy, though it “exerts a high level of material influence” over it.

“Looking at the evidence in the round (including the recent changes), we have found that there has not been a change of control by Microsoft from material influence to de facto control over OpenAI,” Joel Bamford, CMA execurive director, said in a post on LinkedIn.

“Because this change of control has not happened, the partnership in its current form does not qualify for review under the UK’s merger control regime.”

However, he stipulated that the new ruling should not be interpreted as a “clean bill of health” for any other potential competition concerns.

Bamford’s post also noted the time it took for the watchdog to reach its decision – it has been over a year since the CMA first opened the case, but following a dramatic change in leadership, it concluded the case in a matter of months.

The competition watchdog recently faced a change in their lead chair after calls from government to stimulate growth. Marcus Bokkerink was replaced with Doug Gurr, the former boss of Amazon UK.

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A Softer CMA?

The move was controversal, and met with outrage across consumer protection groups.

“The CMA has sat on this decision for over a year, yet within just a few weeks of a former Amazon boss being installed as chair, it has decided everything was absolutely fine all along, nothing to see here,” said Rosa Curling, co-executive director of Foxglove, a digital rights campaign group, as reported by the BBC.

The response is not without merit – Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA said that the watchdog had concerns about an web of interconnected AI partnerships among big tech firms, back in 2024.

However, calls from the government to prioristise growth protention and high-growth investments, particularly in AI, were distributed to the CMA.

The UK government also neglected to sign an agreement on regulation at the AI summit in Paris this year, alinging itself with the US.

The government’s pro-growth stance may mean the CMA is taking a softer approach to regulation when it comes to the emerging AI sector.