The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Wednesday it determined Microsoft's (MSFT) hiring of former Inflection AI employees and related agreements with the AI startup do not pose a threat to competition.

The CMA had 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:opened an investigation into the partnership to examine its impact on competition in the AI market and whether it effectively created a merger after Microsoft 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:reportedly paid $650 million to license Inflection's tech and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:hired senior members of the Inflection team.

The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:antitrust regulator said that while it found the transaction could be considered a "relevant merger situati🌊on," that it "does not give rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition."

The investigation's closure could be good news for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:big tech companies amid regulatory scrutiny with a particular focus on 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:AI partnerships.

Microsoft's partnership with Inflection AI is also reportedly under investigation in the U.S., with the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Trade Commission (FTC) examining possible violations of antitrust rules for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Microsoft shares were little changed in intraday trading Wednesday following the news, and have gained about 9% from the start of the year.