The European Union is preparing to cast a sharper eye on “acquihires” — a practice where major technology firms recruit start-up founders and core teams rather than purchasing the company outright. The approach has allowed some industry heavyweights to bypass merger review requirements, but according to a statement from Olivier Guersent, outgoing director general of the European Commission’s competition unit, such transactions are unlikely to escape attention in the future.
Guersent, who is retiring this week after more than three decades in EU enforcement, said Brussels could no longer overlook what amounts to strategic talent raids. Per a statement, the Commission is now encouraging national authorities in countries including Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Slovenia, Lithuania and Latvia to use “call-in” mechanisms, which allow below-threshold deals to be referred for EU investigation.
The move comes amid a series of high-profile examples. Microsoft’s $650 million arrangement to hire most of AI start-up Inflection’s staff, Google’s recruitment of Character.AI’s founders, and its hiring spree at AI code-generation firm Windsurf all sidestepped traditional mergers but resulted in significant transfers of intellectual and human capital. According to Guersent, a company’s workforce should be treated as an asset in merger assessments, not merely as individual hires.
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The trend is far from confined to Europe. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice are also probing whether certain Big Tech acquihires breach antitrust rules. The FTC reportedly questioned whether Microsoft’s agreement with Inflection amounted to an unapproved acquisition, and U.S. agencies are said to be reviewing deals involving Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia.
Guersent pointed to the EU’s Digital Markets Act as proof that targeted regulatory tools can deliver change, even where years of traditional enforcement have not. Still, he acknowledged the limitations, noting that the impact “probably” has not met all expectations.
Supporters of acquihires claim they provide struggling start-ups with viable exits and give founders immediate scale through established platforms. Critics counter that the practice consolidates critical AI capabilities within a few dominant players, potentially stifling competition. Legal scholar John F. Coyle has described some recent transactions, such as Amazon’s hiring of Adept’s co-founders, as deliberate strategies to sidestep antitrust scrutiny.
Source: Mi Trade