US Justice Dept. is investigating Nvidia’s acquisition of AI startup, Politico reports By Reuters

(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department is investigating chip giant Nvidia Corp’s acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Run:ai on antitrust grounds, Politico reported on Thursday, citing five people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Nvidia announced its acquisition of the Israeli company in April for about $700 million, according to a report by Tech Crunch.

Run:ai enables developers and teams to manage and optimize their AI infrastructure.

“We will continue to support aspiring innovators across every industry and market, and we are happy to provide any information regulators need,” an Nvidia spokesperson said.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

U.S. antitrust regulators have been closely monitoring Big Tech acquisition activity over concerns that concentrating new technologies in the hands of a few companies could stifle competition.

Reuters reported last month that France’s antitrust authority was preparing to file charges against Nvidia for anti-competitive practices.

Nvidia’s profits and revenue have soared over the past year as its processors have become the gold standard in the chip industry due to their ability to power AI applications, including training models like ChatGPT.