Big Tech Acqui-Hire Flurry Needs More Scrutiny, EU’s Ribera Says

Big Tech’s growing trend of snapping up startup talent and technology without embarking on a formal takeover warrants further scrutiny, according to Teresa Ribera, the European Union’s antitrust chief.

Speaking to reporters at Bloomberg’s Washington bureau, Ribera said situations where powerful technology companies ink licensing deals and hire the bulk of a startup’s workforce could require more forceful measures to maintain competition in AI markets.

“What we have started to assess is whether in certain cases we may need to update our capacity to adopt interim measures,” when reviewing those deals, Ribera said in response to a question ...