France Nears End of Antitrust Probe into Nvidia

France's competition authority announced that its antitrust investigation into AI chip giant Nvidia is close to completion. The regulator is expected to issue a formal statement of objections soon, alleging several market competition-restricting practices.

The probe, which began in September 2023 with unannounced inspections of Nvidia's French offices as part of a broader review of cloud computing market competition, has since evolved into a specific antitrust case against Nvidia.

Key areas of focus include the market's heavy reliance on Nvidia's CUDA software platform, which is crucial for training large AI models on the company's GPUs, and Nvidia's investments in AI cloud computing firms like CoreWeave. Regulators are concerned these investments may further consolidate Nvidia's dominant position in the already concentrated AI chip market.

Nvidia commands over 70 percent of the global AI accelerator market. Should France issue formal objections, it would be the first global regulator to do so. However, this statement of objections is not a final ruling; Nvidia has the right to contest the claims, and a final decision could take over a year.

The outcome of this French case is seen as significant for Europe's efforts to enhance its technological sovereignty in AI and reduce reliance on U.S. chip suppliers.