The European Commission is conducting distinct talks with two major U.S. artificial intelligence firms, OpenAI and Anthropic, with each dialogue at a different point in development, a Commission spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
At a daily press briefing, spokesperson Thomas Regnier said OpenAI initiated contact with the Commission and proposed providing access to its new AI model. The Commission said it welcomed OpenAI's proactive approach and that conversations are continuing to determine possible next steps.
By contrast, Regnier said the Commission has held "four or five" meetings with Anthropic, but those exchanges have not progressed to covering access to Anthropic's AI models. He emphasized the differing status of the two engagements.
Regnier summed up the contrast between the two processes: "With one (OpenAI), you have a company proactively offering to give access to the company. With the other one (Anthropic), we have good exchanges though we’re not at a stage where we can speculate on potential access or not," he said.
Details about what 'access' would entail, the technical parameters, or any timelines for either engagement were not provided during the briefing. The Commission's comments establish only the current state of discussions - an OpenAI offer and ongoing follow-up, and a series of meetings with Anthropic that have not yet moved to access-related talks.
Context and implications
The Commission's remarks indicate active engagement with leading AI developers, but stop short of specifying outcomes or commitments. The two companies are at distinct points in their interactions with the EU executive: one offering model access, the other engaged in exploratory meetings.
The Commission did not provide further information on potential next steps, technical arrangements, or any regulatory conditions that might accompany model access.