Nvidia faces two Justice Department antitrust investigations over market dominance

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly opened two separate investigations into Nvidia over antitrust concerns about the computer giant’s business interests focused on artificial intelligence. The first investigation, Reported by PoliticalThe Justice Department is investigating Nvidia’s acquisition of Run:ai, while the second, according to informationwill assess whether Nvidia abused its dominant position in the AI ​​chip market 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 specific concerns about the Run:ai purchase were not disclosed, both U.S. and international regulators have been scrutinizing recent acquisitions of vast tech companies for issues such as anti-competitive business practices and market monopolies. AI acquisitions have been of particular interest, with a joint statement issued by the main regulators of the US, EU and UK in July, it pledged to “protect against tactics that could undermine fair competition or lead to unfair or deceptive practices in the AI ​​ecosystem.”

The second investigation launched by the DOJ is in response to complaints from competitors. It will examine whether Nvidia abused its dominant market position to force cloud providers to buy its products. The investigation will also look into claims that Nvidia overcharges customers for networking equipment if they choose to purchase AI chips from rival companies like AMD and Intel.

“We compete by building on decades of investment and innovation, rigorously complying with all regulations, making NVIDIA available in every cloud and on-premise for every enterprise, and ensuring that customers can choose the solution that’s best for them,” NVIDIA spokeswoman Mylene Mangalindan said in a statement to Political“We will continue to support early stage innovators in every industry and market and are happy to provide any information that regulators require.”

Nvidia is expected to control between 70 percent and 95 percent market for chips needed to train AI models. Nvidia’s dominance has drawn the ire of other global regulators, Reuters Agency reporting last month that the company could face French antitrust charges for alleged anti-competitive practices. In June, Nvidia briefly overtook Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company, a feat largely fueled by surging demand for AI technology.