EU launches antitrust probe into the full AI technology chain of the largest corporations

The European Commission has launched a large-scale antitrust investigation into tech giants: the entire AI technology chain is under scrutiny — from computing infrastructure to end-user applications.

What the regulator is investigating

The EU’s antitrust chief said the regulator is examining possible distortions of competition across the entire structure of the AI market.

This is a fundamental expansion of scope compared with past cases: previously, the European Commission dealt with individual products and practices; now it is looking at systemic market power as such.

The focus is on the vertical integration of the largest platforms. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta simultaneously control several critical layers of the market, potentially shutting out independent players:

• Cloud infrastructure with priority access to scarce GPU capacity (Azure, GCP, AWS)
• Vast pools of training data — search queries, maps, email, and messaging services
• Strategic investments in leading AI labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral)
• Integration of AI assistants directly into operating systems, browsers, and office suites
• API access terms that can place third-party developers at a disadvantage

Why the investigation opened now

Pressure on Big Tech in AI had been building gradually.

The AI Act, which entered into force in 2024, established mandatory requirements for high-risk systems and providers of foundation models.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) designated six major platforms as “gatekeepers” and required them to ensure interoperability with competitors — in practice, this means any compatibility restrictions can now be interpreted as a violation.

But the direct catalyst for the current investigation was the large-scale investment alliances of recent years. Microsoft invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI and secured exclusive rights to commercially host GPT models through Azure. Amazon invested up to $4 billion in Anthropic. Google is both a major shareholder in Anthropic and its key cloud partner.

This concentration of capital has already drawn regulators’ attention: the FTC in the United States and the CMA in the United Kingdom are conducting parallel investigations — the European Commission is joining an emerging global consensus.

The semiconductor market is a separate issue. NVIDIA controls more than 80% of the accelerator segment used to train AI models, while the largest cloud platforms secure priority in supply queues.

Independent startups get access to compute later and at significantly higher prices — creating a structural advantage for integrated giants already at the model development stage.

“The entire AI technology chain is under our antitrust scrutiny — we are looking for possible distortions of competition at every level,” a

European Commission representative said.

What Big Tech has at stake

The scale of possible sanctions is significant.

Under the DMA, “gatekeepers” face fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue for violations, and up to 20% for systematic violations. For Microsoft or Google, that means tens of billions of euros.

Google’s total EU fines for abusing its position in search, Android, and advertising have already exceeded €8 billion — the precedent shows the regulator’s readiness for tough decisions.

Structural remedies could prove more painful than financial sanctions. The European Commission can require open third-party access to cloud infrastructure, ban exclusive partnerships with AI labs, or compel disclosure of API terms — up to and including the forced separation of individual business units.

What this means

The regulatory logic is changing fundamentally: from targeted complaints about individual products to an assessment of structural market power as a system.

For independent AI developers and European companies, forced opening of access to key resources — compute, training data, and distribution channels — could become a turning point in the competitive struggle for the AI market of the next decade.