Big Tech firms are facing scrutiny over market dominance in artificial intelligence

Facebook owner Meta has signed a multibillion-dollar agreement to rent artificial intelligence chips from Google to support the development of new AI models, tech news outlet The Information reported on Thursday, citing a person involved in the talks.

Big Tech firms are facing increasing regulatory pressure amid massive investments in AI. The US authorities have pushed for safeguards tied to national security and responsible deployment of the technology. At the same time, European regulators are tightening rules on transparency, safety, and market dominance, encouraging firms to rely more on partnerships and shared infrastructure.

In addition to the chip-rental arrangement, The Information said Meta is also in discussions to directly purchase Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for its own data centers, potentially beginning next year, although the outcome of the talks remains uncertain.

Meta has already pursued multiple chip and infrastructure agreements amid growing AI ambitions. Earlier this year, the California-based company secured major AI chip agreements with semiconductor maker AMD and expanded its use of Nvidia hardware to diversify access to advanced processors and reduce dependence on a single supplier.

As part of its expansion strategy, Meta began construction of a new data center in Lebanon, Indiana, earlier this month, with total investment expected to exceed $10 billion, underscoring the company's long-term commitment to AI infrastructure.

Similar collaborations have emerged across the sector. Last year, Microsoft deepened cooperation with cloud and chip providers Anthropic and Nvidia to deepen its role in building AI infrastructure with multiple partners. At the same time, Amazon Web Services expanded compute agreements with AI developers to provide access to large Graphics Processing Unit clusters.

Governments meanwhile are advancing formal oversight frameworks. The US has introduced executive measures requiring safety testing and reporting for advanced AI systems. The EU has adopted sweeping legislation imposing risk-based rules and compliance obligations on AI developers - steps that analysts say are reshaping how Big Tech builds and deploys AI technologies.

(RT.com)