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Sprint projectOct 26, 2026Warwick, UK

Do LLM Bidders Collude? A Sealed-Bid Procurement Sting

Rohit John

Submitted to AI Collusion Research Sprint. Sprint projects are early-stage work by participants, not Apart Research publications.

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Report: Do LLM Bidders Collude? A Sealed-Bid Procurement Sting

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We demonstrate spontaneous collusion in market environment,occurring with and without direct communication channels, implement and compare several collusion detection & deterrence methods and test collusion stability after agent replacement.

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  1. 1Negligible. No clear problem addressed, or no meaningful novelty.
  2. 2Limited. Addresses a real problem but with a generic or well-trodden approach. Incremental at best.
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Cite this project

@misc{john2026llm,
  title = {{Do LLM Bidders Collude? A Sealed-Bid Procurement Sting}},
  author = {Rohit John},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  note = {Submitted to AI Collusion Research Sprint, an Apart Research Sprint},
  howpublished = {\url{https://apartresearch.com/sprints/projects/do-llm-bidders-collude-a-sealedbid-procurement-sting-vw7b}},
  url = {https://apartresearch.com/sprints/projects/do-llm-bidders-collude-a-sealedbid-procurement-sting-vw7b}
}

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