Two United States federal regulators have reached a deal allowing them to continue antitrust investigations into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia play in the artificial intelligence industry, the New York Times reported.

According to the Times, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement in the past week and it is expected to be completed in the coming few days, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The latest development is a significant step showcasing the strong regulatory scrutiny into the powerful influence of artificial intelligence.

For the Times, the new agreement will allow the Justice Department to take the lead investigation into the behaviour of Nvidia on whether the biggest maker of A.I. chip has violated antitrust laws.

Meanwhile, the FTC will take over the lead role in investigating the conduct of ChatGPT chatbot maker OpenAI and Microsoft over its $13 billion investment in OpenAI and the deals the company made with other A.I. companies.

The Joe Biden administration on several occasions tried to investigate Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia but they have largely managed to escape scrutiny. The development intensified in late 2022 when generative A.I., which can produce humanlike text, photos, videos and audio, burst onto the scene.