Google requests the US government to shatter Microsoft's exclusive cloud deal with OpenAI, claiming consumers may incur extra charges buying the Ch...

[Windows Central]

Google recently requested the US Federal Trade Commission to break Microsoft's exclusive deal to host OpenAI's technology on its cloud servers. The company claims consumers may incur additional charges when buying OpenAI products through Microsoft servers.

Google requests the US government to shatter Microsoft's exclusive cloud deal with OpenAI, claiming consumers may incur extra charges buying the Ch... : Read more

 

[naddy69]

"To this end, it remains unclear if the FTC will greenlight Google's request to foster fair business practices in cloud computing."

U.S. anti-trust laws are in place to protect consumers. Not whining competitors.

Microsoft is free to enter into any business contracts with whatever companies they want. Google claiming that "consumers buying OpenAI's tech through Microsoft MAY face extra charges" is baseless. When Microsoft becomes a monopoly on AI (or anything else) AND starts acting like a monopoly by charging higher and higher prices, THEN the government will get involved.

This will go nowhere, and Google will join the long list of companies/people who do not understand the law.

OTOH, OpenAI is certainly free to use other companies (Google, Amazon, etc.) to get more cloud computing resources. They may need to wait until their contract with MS expires (assuming it is exclusive on this point), but there is nothing illegal going on here.

The chances of MS becoming a market leader in AI are slim. I personally think that OpenAI would LIKE to get less aligned with MS and get more aligned with Google and/or Apple. For obvious reasons.

 

[fjtorres5591]

This will go nowhere, and Google will join the long list of companies/people who do not understand the law.

OTOH, OpenAI is certainly free to use other companies (Google, Amazon, etc.) to get more cloud computing resources. They may need to wait until their contract with MS expires (assuming it is exclusive on this point), but there is nothing illegal going on here.

The chances of MS becoming a market leader in AI are slim. I personally think that OpenAI would LIKE to get less aligned with MS and get more aligned with Google and/or Apple. For obvious reasons.

They may not know Kahn is history and Ferguson is more interested in "free speech censorship", protectionism, and "fostering innovation" than padding Google's pocketbook.

Their whine might carry a bit more bite in Europe where they see antitrust as protecting their competitors but when it comes to AI and cloud they have precious little to protect. The choice for them is Amazon, Google, and MS and they see little difference between the three American devils. And of the three, Google is the one they are actively pursuing under their version of antitrust.

As to OpenAI preferences, their primary interest is tapping MS's checkbook as long as possible.

Nadella's plan, though, is to tap their tech until their inhouse tech is good enough for their enterprise customers. They have no interest in funding endless AI research into computer sentience. They just want to make money with better software. The relationship will be finite and short. Two-three years or so and it will end sooner than OpenAI would like.