Nvidia, the renowned GPU maker, is under the microscope in Europe over its dominance in the AI chip market. Recent reports from The Wall Street Journal revealed that French antitrust authorities have searched Nvidia’s French office. This move is to determine if Nvidia has been engaging in illegal monopolistic practices.
The French Competition Authority (FCA) announced, confirming searches at the offices of certain manufacturers in the graphics chip sector. The aim? To ascertain any signs of monopolistic behavior. While the FCA did not name the company under investigation, sources from Washington Daily have confirmed Nvidia as the subject. During the search, French authorities confiscated both physical and digital documents and also conducted interviews with Nvidia’s staff. Nvidia, however, has chosen to remain silent on the matter.
In a related development, Bloomberg has cited sources saying that the European Competition Commission is currently holding informal discussions with various industry stakeholders. The objective is to gauge if Nvidia has been manipulating the AI chip market, especially in the enterprise and gaming sectors. With Nvidia’s A100 and H100 chips commanding a whopping 80% of the AI chip market, traditional CPU bigwigs like Intel and AMD are finding it challenging to keep pace. If the EU’s investigations confirm monopolistic behavior, Nvidia could be staring at a multi-billion dollar fine.
The surge in AI’s popularity has been a boon for Nvidia. The company’s stock price has skyrocketed, and its recent quarterly revenue stood at an impressive $13.51 billion, marking a 101% growth year-on-year. With a market cap comfortably over a trillion dollars, Nvidia’s success is undeniable. However, with great power comes great scrutiny, and it remains to be seen how this European investigation unfolds.
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References:
- https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/nvidias-french-offices-raided-in-cloud-computing-competition-inquiry-97c094ea
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/eu-starts-early-stage-probe-into-nvidia-dominated-ai-chip-markets-abuses-report/articleshow/104050352.cms?from=mdr
- https://www.benzinga.com/government/23/10/35022895/eu-eyes-nvidia-scrutiny-intensifies-over-ai-chip-market-dominance
- https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-starts-early-stage-probe-into-nvidia-dominated-ai-chip-market-abuses-2023-09-29/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-29/eu-begins-early-stage-probe-into-ai-chip-market-abuses-that-nvidia-dominates
Asif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences.
