According to The Wall Street Journal, French antitrust authorities conducted a raid on the offices of California-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip manufacturer Nvidia in France this week as part of a broader investigation in the cloud computing sector.
Is Unfair Competition Taking Place?
While neither Nvidia nor French regulatory agencies have officially commented on the matter so far, court officials stated that the raid took place on the grounds that the company engaged in “anti-competitive practices in the graphics card sector.”
US Department of Commerce Denies Stoppage Requests
Nvidia is considered a global leader in AI chip production, and such an antitrust investigation raises significant questions about the company’s position in the market and how it might impact competition.
Furthermore, according to the company’s latest quarterly report, US regulators had requested a halt to Nvidia’s exports of AI chips to “certain Middle Eastern countries.” However, this information was denied by the US Department of Commerce.
Finally, it is noted that this operation is the result of a broader investigation into the cloud computing sector, and it raises concerns about cloud computing companies potentially using their access to computing power to exclude smaller competitors.
