The UK approves Google's 2 billion investment in Anthropic

The UK's competition regulator has cleared Google's 2 billion investment in Anthropic, according to reporting by Bloomberg and others. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially concluded that the company hasn't acquired "material influence" over the AI startup Anthropic as a result of the investment. The continuing investigation into the partnership has also been squashed, with the UK antitrust watchdog saying that the investment doesn't qualify for a full probe under merger rules. This is after phase one of a formal investigation was announced back in October. "Anthropic is an independent company and our strategic partnerships and investor relationships do not diminish our corporate governance independence or our freedom to partner with others," a company spokesperson said after the CMA announced its findings.