Amazon said it was “disappointed” when the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) continued its investigation of Amazon’s partnership with Anthropic in August 2024. The CMA’s phase-one decision, issued on 27 September 2024, concluded that the partnership did not qualify as a relevant merger situation under the Enterprise Act 2002. The inquiry was not a finding that either company had broken competition law.
Why did Amazon say it was disappointed?
Amazon objected to the CMA’s decision to continue examining its partnership with Anthropic rather than end the probe. In a statement quoted by CRN on 8 August 2024, an Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon’s collaboration with Anthropic does not raise any competition concerns or meet the CMA’s own threshold for review.” CRN reported that Amazon was “disappointed” the CMA had not ended its inquiry.
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Those were Amazon’s views, not a conclusion reached by the regulator. The CMA had opened a formal merger inquiry to assess the partnership under UK law; opening an inquiry is an investigative step, not a finding of harm.
What was the CMA investigating?
The CMA first sought views in April 2024 on several partnerships involving AI companies, including Amazon and Anthropic. In August, it opened a formal inquiry into whether their partnership created a “relevant merger situation” under the Enterprise Act 2002. If that threshold were met, the CMA would then consider whether the arrangement had resulted, or might be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition in a UK market.
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The review focused on the legal tests for a merger situation and its potential effect on competition. It should not be read as a finding that Amazon or Anthropic violated competition law, or as a broad ruling on competition across the AI sector.
What was the outcome?
The CMA issued its phase-one decision on 27 September 2024 and published the full decision on 17 October 2024. It concluded that the Amazon–Anthropic partnership did not qualify as a relevant merger situation. That was the inquiry’s phase-one outcome: the legal threshold for the CMA’s merger review was not met.
The decision therefore did not amount to a general declaration that every possible competition concern about AI partnerships had been disproved. It addressed the specific partnership and the relevant-merger test under the Enterprise Act 2002.
What facts did the CMA cite?
In its decision summary, the CMA considered whether elements of the partnership, taken together, could give Amazon material influence over Anthropic. It also cited two threshold-related facts:
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- Share of supply: On the evidence available, the parties did not together hold 25% or more of any description of goods or services supplied in the UK.
The CMA’s full decision describes Amazon’s investment as convertible into non-voting equity in certain circumstances. That detail is part of the partnership’s terms; by itself, it does not establish that Amazon had control or material influence.
How much had Amazon invested in Anthropic?
Amazon’s investment totalled $4 billion, according to the CMA’s announcement and decision materials. The investment comprised $1.25 billion in September 2023 and a further $2.75 billion in March 2024. These are the stated investment amounts, not estimates of Anthropic’s value or of the partnership’s effect on competition.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read the headline against the final decision
The headline’s “disappointed” wording describes Amazon’s reaction to the investigation continuing in August 2024. It is not the CMA’s language or a description of the final outcome. The key distinction is between the CMA’s decision to investigate and its later phase-one conclusion that this partnership did not qualify as a relevant merger situation.
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