The investigation would determine whether Nvidia is blocking its customers from switching suppliers or preventing others from diversifying their supplies.
Semiconductor giant Nvidia on Tuesday defended itself against anti-competitive practices, after several American media outlets reported an investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) into the matter.
The DOJ has sent subpoenas to Nvidia Corp. and other companies seeking evidence that the chipmaker violated antitrust laws, Bloomberg reports. While the requests for information were initially made via questionnaire, they will now be legally binding.
The company did not directly confirm receiving the request. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for information.
“Nvidia won on merit”
According to Bloomberg, the DOJ is particularly looking into whether Nvidia is obstructing its customers from switching suppliers or preventing others from diversifying their supplies.
In particular, the investigation into Nvidia is focusing on its $700 million acquisition of AI vendor RunAI, as regulators fear the deal will make it difficult to find alternatives to Nvidia chips, according to Bloomberg.
“Nvidia has won on merit, as shown by benchmark studies and our customers, who can choose what is best for them,” said a spokesperson for the Santa Clara (California) group.
Since the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI)Nvidia has become the central player in the development of this technology, thanks to its chips, called graphics cards or GPUs.
They offer computing capabilities significantly superior to the competition and have become essential for the development of large language models, software that produces content on simple request in everyday language.
In the first quarter of 2024, Nvidia’s market share in graphics cards reached 88%, according to Jon Peddie Research (JPR). In mid-July, the French Competition Authority confirmed that it was investigating the group for suspected anti-competitive practices.
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