European Union Investigate Alleged Anti-Competitive Practices Of Nvidia Related To Artificial Intelligence Chips

The European Union is investigating allegations of anti-competitive practices related to chips used for artificial intelligence, a market controlled by Nvidia, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, September 29. This report cites sources familiar with the matter.

The European Commission has informally gathered views on practices that may be abuse in the graphics processing unit (GPU) sector, which is used for artificial intelligence and gaming work, to understand whether there is a need for future interference, the report said.

"This early-stage investigation may not lead to an official investigation or sanctions," the report added.

Nvidia, which almost controls the GPU market with a market share of around 80%, declined to comment, while the European Commission has not responded to a request for comment from Reuters.

French authorities have also interviewed market participants regarding Nvidia's key role in artificial intelligence chips, price policies, chip scarcity, and its impact on prices, the report added.

French competition authorities conducted a raid on a company in the graphics card sector on Tuesday, September 26, which sources familiar with the matter told Reuters were Nvidia.

Nvidia's share price and demand for its chips surged after ChatGPT's great success, last year's incredible artificial intelligence chatbot.

The company's chips are found in almost all global systems that power applications such as ChatGPT, so Nvidia is the only trillions-dollar semiconductor company in the world.