Microsoft CEO says tech giants battling for content to build AI

FILE PHOTO: The Microsoft logo is seen at the Microsoft store in New York City, July 28, 2015. The global launch of the Microsoft Windows 10 operating system will take place on July 29. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said Monday tech giants were competing for vast troves of content needed to train artificial intelligence, and complained Google was locking up content with expensive and exclusive deals with publishers.

Testifying in a landmark U.S. trial against its rival Google, the first major antitrust case brought by the U.S. since it sued Microsoft in 1998, Nadella testified the tech giants' efforts to build content libraries to train their large language models "reminds me of the early phases of distribution deals."