The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has concluded that Microsoft's involvement with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is not subject to merger control. This decision follows a thorough examination of the relationship between the two companies, particularly in light of Microsoft's substantial investments over the years.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, stated that while AI is a crucial technology for competition in the digital economy, the authority found that the existing cooperation between Microsoft and OpenAI does not meet the legal criteria for merger control. The assessment focused on whether Microsoft's influence constituted a concentration under German law and whether it triggered a notification obligation based on the transaction value threshold.

The authority determined that Microsoft gained material competitive influence over OpenAI as early as 2019, but OpenAI's activities in Germany were not deemed substantial until 2023. Consequently, the Bundeskartellamt concluded that there was no obligation for Microsoft to notify its involvement under merger control regulations.

However, the authority indicated that if Microsoft's influence over OpenAI were to increase in the future, it would need to reassess the situation. Currently, the cooperation must adhere to competition law rules, as the two companies are not considered affiliated under competition law.

Additionally, the Bundeskartellamt is investigating whether Microsoft holds a position of paramount significance for competition across markets, as defined under the extended abuse control rules in the digital economy. This scrutiny follows similar findings against other major tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Alphabet/Google, and Meta/Facebook.