NVIDIA raided in France on suspicion of violating antitrust laws
On September 26, 2023, it was revealed that the French Competition Commission (Autorité de la concurrence) had raided NVIDIA's French office on suspicion of violating antitrust laws.
The General Rapporteur of the Autorité de la concurrence indicates that an carried unannounced inspection was out in the graphics cards sector |
Nvidia perquisitionne par l'Autorité de la concurrence en France - Challenges
Nvidia's French Offices Raided in Cloud-Computing Antitrust Inquiry - WSJ
Nvidia's French offices raided in cloud-computing competition inquiry -WSJ | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidias-french-offices-raided-cloud-computing-competition-inquiry-wsj-2023-09-28/
On September 27, the Autorité de la concurrence said: ``With the permission of a judge, the Investigative Directorate of the French Ministry of Justice conducted an early morning raid on the premises of a company suspected of anti-competitive behavior in the graphics card sector.'' The company announced, without naming the company, that it was conducting a raid on a company that holds a monopoly in the GPU market.
Regarding this, the French media Challenges reported on the 27th, ``French anti-competition authorities visited NVIDIA unannounced on the 26th and conducted a seizure operation.'' The American media Wall Street Journal also reported on the 28th that information provided by related parties revealed that the French authorities' raids targeted NVIDIA.
Although the specific details of the raids are unclear, these raids typically last several hours, with officials visiting the facility early in the morning, searching the company's premises, seizing physical and digital materials, and This is done by interviewing employees who have come to work.
French authorities say the investigation builds on a broader investigation into the field of cloud computing, in which 'large companies have used access to computing power to drive smaller competitors out of the field. There are concerns that they are being excluded.'
With the rise of generative AI such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, demand for NVIDIA chips is rapidly increasing, and shortages continue. Along with this, NVIDIA's sales rapidly increased, and in June 2023, NVIDIA's market capitalization exceeded 1 trillion dollars (approximately 150 trillion yen) for the first time. According to Reuters, NVIDIA's AI chip market share has reached 80%, and the company's share is expected to reach 90% if more powerful hardware is introduced in the future.
Multiple media outlets have contacted NVIDIA, but the company declined to comment.
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