UK Clears Amazon's AI Partnership with Anthropic

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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UK Clears Amazon's AI Partnership with Anthropic

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Britain's competition regulator said on Friday Amazon's artificial intelligence partnership with startup Anthropic will not be referred for a deeper probe as it did not raise competition concerns.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the partnership, which includes a $4 billion investment by Amazon in Anthropic, did not qualify for investigation under Britain's merger regulations.

"We welcome the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision acknowledging its lack of jurisdiction regarding this collaboration," an Amazon spokesperson said in response to the regulator's decision, according to Reuters.

The regulator has also cleared a similar collaboration between Microsoft and Inflection AI.

However, Alphabet's partnership with Anthropic is still under scrutiny.

"Anthropic is an independent company and our strategic partnerships and investor relationships do not diminish our corporate governance independence or freedom to partner with others," an Anthropic spokesperson told Reuters on Friday.

Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, has received billions of dollars in investments from several tech giants.

Antitrust regulators around the world have increasingly raised concerns over multiple deals struck between smaller industry startups and big tech companies.



Samsung Invests $1.8 Billion More in Vietnam for OLED Manufacturing Plant 

Security guards stand outside a Samsung facility during a strike by the factory workers demanding higher wages in Sriperumbudur, near the city of Chennai, India, September 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Security guards stand outside a Samsung facility during a strike by the factory workers demanding higher wages in Sriperumbudur, near the city of Chennai, India, September 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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Samsung Invests $1.8 Billion More in Vietnam for OLED Manufacturing Plant 

Security guards stand outside a Samsung facility during a strike by the factory workers demanding higher wages in Sriperumbudur, near the city of Chennai, India, September 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Security guards stand outside a Samsung facility during a strike by the factory workers demanding higher wages in Sriperumbudur, near the city of Chennai, India, September 16, 2024. (Reuters)

South Korean electronic manufacturer Samsung Display Co plans to invest $1.8 billion for a factory this year in northern Vietnam to produce OLED displays for automobiles and technology equipment, the Southeast Asian country said on Sunday.

The new facility for the manufacture of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays will be located in Yen Phong industrial park in Bac Ninh province east of Hanoi and close to an existing Samsung electronics plant, the government said in a statement released after the meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the General Director of Samsung Vietnam Choi Joo Ho.

Bac Ninh authorities and Samsung Display on Sunday also signed a memorandum of understanding of the project, local media reported, adding the investment would raise Samsung's total investment in Bac Ninh to $8.3 billion from the current $6.5 billion.

Vietnam has over the last decade emerged as one of the most attractive production hubs for electronics companies.

According to Choi, Samsung has established six manufacturing plants, one research and development center, and one sales entity in Vietnam, with a cumulative investment of $22.4 billion.