The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to reports, French antitrust regulators raided the office of AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA.US) in France this week because the company is suspected of engaging in anti-competitive behavior.
The French antitrust regulator revealed this raid on Wednesday, but it did not reveal what acts were being investigated, nor which company it targeted; it only stated that the company was in the video card industry. The French antitrust regulator said this week's action comes after a more extensive investigation into the cloud computing industry. The agency expressed concern that cloud computing companies might use the computing power they have gained to exclude smaller competitors.
The French antitrust regulator said its investigation department “raided the office of a company suspected of engaging in anti-competitive behavior in the graphics card industry.” The agency added, “This raid does not mean that the company has violated the law; only a full investigation into the circumstances of the case can determine this.”
In June of this year, the French antitrust regulator published a report on competition in the cloud computing market, but did not specifically mention Nvidia. The report stated: “Competition agencies will have to monitor existing players to ensure they do not hinder the development of small or new players based on these technologies.”
Driven by the AI boom, market demand for Nvidia's AI chips surged, driving the company's market capitalization to surpass $1 trillion in June. Citigroup has predicted that as Nvidia launches more powerful AI chips, the company's market share in the AI chip field will exceed 90%.