A search was carried out this week in France for a group specialized in the graphics card sector, suspected of anti-competitive practices, the competition authority reported in a press release on Wednesday, September 27, without naming the company in question. .
“At this time, this intervention obviously does not prejudge the guilt of the company affected by the alleged practices, which only an investigation into the substance will allow, where appropriate, to determine,” the French authority underlines in its statement.
Nvidia targeted
This “unannounced visit and seizure” operation took place on September 26 and, according to the French magazine, was intended to Challengesthe American graphics card giant Nvidia, located west of Paris and near Nice.
Questioned by AFP on Thursday, Nvidia declined to comment.
The American giant is best known for its graphics processors (GPU), which allow you to play high-resolution video games or hold video conferences. With the power of generative AI increasing, illustrated in particular by the success of ChatGPT, the needs for these cutting-edge components have skyrocketed.
The booming business
Production of the vast majority of semiconductors used to train AI models around the world depends on two companies, Nvidia for design and Taiwan’s TSMC for manufacturing.
The search was carried out “with prior authorization from a judge of liberties and detention”, underlines the French antitrust authority, which warned at the end of June of the risks of anti-competitive practices in the cloud sector (hosting data accessible to distance). at a time of rapid development of artificial intelligence.
In the second quarter, Nvidia’s sales to cloud companies exceeded $10 billion (+171% year-over-year), according to results released at the end of August.
Source: BFM TV
