Anika Begay
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly opened two separate investigations into Nvidia over antitrust concerns about the computer giant’s AI-focused business dealings. The first investigation, reported by Politicwill see the Department of Justice examine Nvidia’s acquisition of Run:ai, while the second, as reported by The informationwill assess whether Nvidia abused its dominant position in the AI chip industry to discourage customers from using competing products.
In April, Nvidia reportedly spent $700 million to acquire Run:ai, an Israeli startup specializing in GPU management software. While no specific concerns were disclosed regarding the Run:ai purchase, both US and international regulators have been scrutinizing acquisitions of large tech companies recently for issues such as anti-competitive business practices and market monopolies. AI acquisitions have been of particular interest, with a joint statement released by major US, EU, and UK regulators in July pledging to “guard against tactics that could undermine fair competition or lead to unfair or deceptive practices in the AI ecosystem.”
The second DOJ investigation responds to complaints from competitors. It will examine whether Nvidia abused its dominant market position to pressure cloud providers to buy its products. The probe will also examine claims that Nvidia overcharges its customers for networking equipment if they choose to buy AI chips from rivals like AMD and Intel.
“We compete based on decades of investment and innovation, rigorously complying with all laws, making NVIDIA openly available in every cloud and on-prem for every business, and ensuring that customers can choose the best solution for them,” NVIDIA spokesperson Mylene Mangalindan said in a statement to Politic“We will continue to support aspiring innovators across every sector and market and are happy to provide any information regulators need.”
Nvidia is estimated to control between 70 and 95 percent of the market for chips needed to train AI models. Nvidia’s dominance has drawn the ire of other global regulators, with News signaling last month that the company could face French antitrust charges for alleged anticompetitive practices. In June, Nvidia briefly surpassed Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company, a feat largely driven by growing demand for AI technology.
