The European Union is investigating alleged anti-competitive behavior in the artificial intelligence chip market dominated by Nvidia, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report notes that the European Commission is informally seeking opinions on potential abuses in the GPU sector to determine whether future intervention is necessary.
The report added that the investigation is still in its early stages and may never lead to a formal investigation or sanctions.
For its part, Nvidia, which dominates the graphics processor market, did not comment on the Bloomberg News report.
The report adds that French authorities also questioned market representatives about Nvidia's key role in AI chips, its pricing policies, chip shortages and their impact on prices.
On Tuesday, the French competition authority raided the offices of a company in the “graphics card industry,” which a person familiar with the matter said was Nvidia.
Nvidia makes graphics processors, which are chips that break computing tasks into smaller parts and process them together, making them faster than traditional methods.
GPUs are in high demand in data centers run by technology companies, video game console makers, and even Bitcoin miners to solve complex mathematical puzzles and earn more cryptocurrency.
With an 84% market share, NVIDIA has a near monopoly on the GPU market, putting it ahead of rivals Intel and AMD. With a market value of $1 trillion, NVIDIA has also become the key to the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology. .