Microsoft faces FTC antitrust probe over AI and licensing practices

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly pressing ahead with an antitrust investigation into 微软 , a move that could reshape competition in AI and productivity software.

As part of the probe, the FTC has issued a civil investigative demand requiring Microsoft to disclose extensive data on its AI operations, including the cost of acquiring data and training models dating back to 2016, Bloomberg News reported.

Regulators are also seeking information on Microsoft’s data centers, challenges in securing sufficient computing power to meet customer demand, and its software licensing practices.

Launched last year under former FTC Chair Lina Khan, the investigation is also examining Microsoft’s decision to cut funding for its in-house AI projects after partnering with OpenAI — a move that could be viewed as limiting competition in the rapidly growing AI sector.

Khan authorised the inquiry before leaving office, with Andrew Ferguson assuming the chairmanship following President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

Implications for the industry

The probe into Microsoft could offer new insights into the company’s reliance on OpenAI’s models and its level of influence over the AI startup.

The findings may have far-reaching consequences for competition and the balance of power in the AI sector, including how open Microsoft is to integrating other models into its OS and software for Copilot, said Neil Shah, co-founder of Counterpoint Research. “It’s the ‘search’ wars all over again. This could have multiple implications, ranging from the integration of third-party models and the flexibility to power Copilot, which may raise optimization and security concerns for enterprises, to the pricing of Copilot and its integrated services,” he said.

Beyond AI integration, the investigation could reshape competitive dynamics in cloud computing and enterprise software.

Changes to Microsoft’s licensing terms or business practices may alter pricing strategies and introduce regulatory hurdles for cloud and AI providers.

“The FTC’s antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s cloud services and AI partnerships could definitely lead to regulatory interventions affecting licensing terms, pricing models, and competition in the enterprise AI and cloud services market,” said Mukesh Ranjan, vice president at Everest Group. “Enterprises relying on Microsoft may face disruptions or increased costs as licensing agreements are revised.”

Heightened regulatory scrutiny of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI could also fuel greater competition in the AI sector, benefiting rival service providers.

“We are already seeing significant innovation in this space post the release of DeepSeek,” Ranjan added. “For example, Google recently unveiled Gemma 3, an advanced AI model designed to operate efficiently on a single GPU, which it claims to be much better than OpenAI offerings.”

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