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Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI may face EU scrutiny, officials say

European Commission says it is checking whether multibillion-dollar stake is reviewable under merger regulation

OpenAI’s unusual corporate structure was thrust into the limelight last year, when its chief executive, Sam Altman, was ousted and then reappointed in a bitter struggle with the non-profit’s board. Despite having no legal sway over the outcome, Microsoft intervened heavily in the dispute, in part by offering Altman and any other OpenAI staff a job in its own organisation. Last month Dragoș Tudorache, an MEP and the lead on the artificial intelligence committee in the European parliament, told the Guardian it was vital the EU did not make the mistakes of the 2000s when emerging tech companies, including Facebook, were allowed to dictate the terms of their service.

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