A new investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is targeting Nvidia for its dominance in the AI market. The DOJ is examining whether Nvidia, holding over 80% of the market through its graphics cards, has used this position to exclude competitors from entering the market, as reported by The Information.
On July 30, various U.S. groups, including democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, urged the DOJ to investigate Nvidia. They highlighted Nvidia’s control of 80% of all GPU chips worldwide and its 98% dominance in the data center market. “Nvidia’s size means it now holds control over the world’s computing destiny, which gives it dangerous leverage over the global economy,” the letter to the DOJ stated.
Reportedly, the DOJ is in discussions with Nvidia’s competitors, such as AMD, as part of the investigation. The focus includes Nvidia’s bundling of software and hardware, particularly the exclusive CUDA platform that runs the AI market on Nvidia hardware, making it challenging for other companies to enter. Additionally, the investigation is exploring whether Nvidia charges customers more for additional data center equipment if they buy GPUs from competitors like AMD and Intel.
Jonathan Ross, CEO of AI chip startup Groq, mentioned instances where Nvidia hindered dealings with companies buying from competitors, suggesting potential antitrust practices. This investigation follows previous issues Nvidia faced with the U.S. government, including a lawsuit by the FTC in 2021 over the ARM acquisition deal.
While the DOJ’s current focus is on investigating Nvidia, it may proceed with legal action if antitrust violations are uncovered.
Get your weekly breakdown of the tech behind PC gaming
