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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] Google has reportedly asked U.S. antitrust authorities to terminate Microsoft's exclusive deal with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, in relation to its AI products on the cloud platform, according to a report by the U.S. IT media outlet, The Information, on the 10th (local time).
This request followed inquiries made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is conducting a comprehensive antitrust investigation into Microsoft's core business practices, to Google as a competitor.
Not only Google, but also other cloud competitors such as Amazon are said to be seeking the termination of Microsoft's exclusive contract with OpenAI, under which Microsoft has exclusive rights to run OpenAI's AI models, including ChatGPT, on its Azure cloud platform. This deal was established in 2019, with Microsoft investing $13 billion by last year.
The influence of OpenAI is seen as a major factor in the rapid market share growth of Azure in its competition with Amazon, Google, and others. According to Synergy Research Group, in the second quarter of this year, the global cloud market share was 32% for Amazon, 23% for Microsoft, and 12% for Google. Microsoft's market share, which once lagged by more than 20% behind Amazon, has narrowed the gap significantly.
The FTC initiated a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft's cloud, software, cybersecurity, and AI businesses last month. This is the first such investigation into Microsoft since its 1990s case concerning the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.
Industry analysts suggest that Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI is now facing a real crisis due to objections from cloud competitors. In October, The Economist also reported that "Microsoft's exclusive deal with OpenAI is unlikely to last forever." Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and the FTC have not commented on this report.
알파경제 Kim SangJin (letyou@alphabiz.co.kr)
