USA – CALIFORNIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dan Mogin and Eric Miller, Mogin Law LLP
gies without being subsumed into sprawling federal proceedings. Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Pricing The rise of algorithmic pricing – where firms use AI to set or recommend prices dynamically – has intro- duced new challenges for antitrust enforcement. Algo- rithms can learn to coordinate prices without explicit human collusion, creating “silent cartels.” California’s SB 295 (2025) is designed to address these concerns. SB 295 would prohibit pricing algo- rithms that use undefined “competitor data” and require companies with over USD5 million in revenue to report algorithmic pricing use to the California Attorney General. At the federal level, Senator Amy Klobuchar intro- duced the Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act (S. 232), which would make it presumptively unlawful for competitors to share non-public data via pricing algo- rithms. Industries most affected include real estate, hospi- tality, travel, and healthcare. As AI becomes more sophisticated, traditional antitrust tools will need to evolve to capture dynamic pricing behaviour and pre- vent harm in real time. Artificial Intelligence Acquisitions and Investments Further complicating the AI landscape is the rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions in the AI industry. When it comes to absorbing nascent AI companies, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft lead the way, along with Cisco, IBM, and Intel, which have also concluded multi-billion-dol- lar deals. Adobe, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Oracle, Qualcomm, Salesforce, and UBER all have executed billion-dollar deals, too. Offering AI to the world takes a lot of juice, and mas- sive partnerships have been executed to deliver it. Oracle has committed USD300 billion in a cloud com- puting agreement that will supply several gigawatts of data centre capacity. The deal is part of the Stargate initiative, a USD500 billion AI infrastructure project launched in January 2025 with backing from Oracle, OpenAI, SoftBank, and others. NVIDIA also promised
USD100 billion to OpenAI to develop 10 gigawatts of power generation capabilities to support AI process- ing. Read more on the Mogin Law Blog. Aggressive competitive tactics have drawn criticism from consumer groups and legislators; investigations and fines by global competition authorities; litiga- tion from agencies, companies, and consumers; and government-mandated breakups and divestitures. In some cases, acquisitions have run into government roadblocks, particularly in the US, EU, and UK. Pair this history with the tectonic effects of AI itself – and the promise it shows to change how the world gath- ers, processes, analyses, and creates data – and you have an area that demands scrutiny among antitrust enforcers and litigators. The pace of AI-related mergers and acquisitions has surged over the past decade. According to the Centre for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), deals involving AI companies more than doubled from 2014 to 2023, with non-AI firms now accounting for nearly half of those transactions. While big tech remains the dominant buyer, activity is broad, involving more than 1,400 unique acquirers. Cross-border deals are common: US firms have acquired more than 500 foreign AI companies, while foreign firms have purchased more than 270 US AI companies (most frequently between the US, UK, and Canada). Private equity is also fueling the boom, investing more than USD1 trillion in AI infrastructure and related technologies, according to the American Investment Council. These funds are driving advances in cyber- security, semiconductors, and data centres. Meanwhile, regulators are taking notice. The California Law Review Commission is examining antitrust impli- cations of AI and cloud dominance, noting that Ama- zon, Microsoft, and Google control two-thirds of the US cloud market. Advocacy groups have urged the FTC to investigate Meta’s USD14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, calling it a “de facto” acquisition designed to skirt review. NVIDIA’s USD100 billion 10-gigabyte venture with OpenAI has raised similar concerns.
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