Germany Questions Whether US Hyperscalers Hold the Keys to AI Dominance • The Register

At a recent meeting organized by Germany’s Bundeskartellamt, European tech companies expressed concerns about the dominance of three American hyperscalers—Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure—in the AI sector. These companies control the necessary infrastructure and massive datasets essential for training AI models, potentially creating barriers for smaller competitors. Key discussions focused on the competitive landscape surrounding foundation models and highlighted issues like a shortage of GPU accelerators, forcing developers to depend on major cloud providers. The Bundeskartellamt is gathering evidence to evaluate the situation for possible antitrust action, emphasizing that this dominance could lead to dependencies and lock-ins for smaller firms. Concerns extend beyond Europe, with similar worries raised at the FTC Tech Summit in the U.S. Experts warn that the market’s concentration may increase costs, potentially burdening users while stifling innovation. The agency is committed to ensuring AI markets remain competitive and open.

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