12:54 PM EDT, 04/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with details throughout)

European regulators do not plan to conduct a formal probe of Microsoft's ( MSFT ) $13 billion investment in OpenAI, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The European Commission is passing on a formal investigation because Microsoft's ( MSFT ) investment falls short of a takeover of the artificial intelligence startup, the report said, citing the people.

European authorities began investigating the companies following a change of leadership at OpenAI in November that saw the ousting of Sam Altman as chief executive before he eventually returned to head the company with the backing of Microsoft ( MSFT ).

The event reportedly exposed deep ties between Microsoft ( MSFT ) and OpenAI, prompting the European Commission to investigate whether Microsoft's ( MSFT ) investment in OpenAI was reviewable under the bloc's merger regulation.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) declined comment to Bloomberg.

A Commission spokesperson said that to examine competition concerns, the regulator would first need need to determine whether there had been a lasting change of control between the two companies, according to the report.

Microsoft ( MSFT ), OpenAI, and the European Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment by MT Newswires.

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