Microsoft criticizes CMA for ‘fundamental mistake’ in British cloudy probe
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Microsoft accused the British antitrust regulator of “looking back” ignoring that artificial intelligence is transforming the technological industry, in his response to an investigation into a computers’ market in a cloud of 9 billion pounds.
The competition and market administration said in January that Microsoft “used its strong position in the software to make it difficult for Amazon Web Services and Google to compete effectively,” in its temporary decision After a long probe to the sector.
However, despite the huge investments of large technological companies for the construction of AI infrastructure, CMA announced that he did not currently see a “significant direct impact” from AI to competition in the traditional cloud market.
In a 56 -page response published on Friday, Microsoft The CMA -e AI position called a “basic mistake”, given how important technology became corporate customers.
“There is a real danger that the intervention on the market, based on these misunderstandings, will reciprocate, leaving the UK opposite the goal of CMA healthy, well-functioned market, rich in growth and investment,” it said.
Large technological companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars to build so -called accelerated computer systems that are capable of training and delivering large language models such as those launching Google’s Bemini and Chatgpt.
Microsoft’s criticism comes with CMA faced intense supervision In recent months, under the pressure of the Government to show that it has promoted growth and does not suffocate innovation in the UK. The ministers suddenly overthrew the chair of the Marcus Bokkerink agency last month, replacing him with former Amazon UK chief Doug Gurr.
Microsoft said that the temporary decision of the CMA “does not reflect that the cloud computing market operates in practice,” claiming that customers in the UK have launched a “limited concern” because of the competition in the industry.
The UK Antatrust’s regulator also began to consider whether Amazon and Microsoft get additional supervision within the new digital market regime in the UK considering them to have “strategic market status” in cloudy industry.
Microsoft said Google excluding Google from that consideration, as well as other potential interventions after the market study, CMA could eventually intervene “to allow Google growth in the UK market by softening the competition of its competitors,” despite the rapid growth of Giant clouds.
Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon web services dominate the global cloud computing industry, each with up to 40 percent of customers in the UK, and Google Cloud mostly viewed as a far -off one third.
In response, CMA said on Friday: “An investigation into the cloud market has considered the impact of AI on competition in the cloud services market. The group analyzes all the feedback he has received so far – including the answers of Microsoft and others – and one has yet to make a final decision. ”
An investigation into cloudy services in the UK began when the media and communication regulator of the MA opened a market study in October 2022, referring to CMA a year later.
The CMA research group said the general lack of competition was interfering with customers “to switch cloud donor or use more clouds, which can ultimately affect the price and quality of the cloud services.”