Nvidia, a leading chipmaker, has successfully completed its acquisition of Israeli AI firm Run:ai for $700 million, following extensive regulatory scrutiny. This acquisition initially announced in April faced significant antitrust review, particularly from the European Commission, which granted unconditional approval earlier this December.

The European Commission had previously indicated in October that the deal necessitated antitrust evaluation due to concerns about its potential impact on competition within the market for graphics processing units (GPUs). As Nvidia already commands approximately 80% of the AI GPU market, regulatory bodies were wary that this acquisition might further consolidate Nvidia's dominance in a rapidly growing sector.

Despite these concerns, the European Commission concluded that the acquisition of Run:ai would not pose significant competition issues, allowing Nvidia to proceed. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice continues to investigate the deal under antitrust laws, raising questions about tech giants' acquisition strategies and their implications for competitive practices.

In a notable move, Run:ai plans to make its software open-source, enabling support for a broader range of AI frameworks beyond Nvidia GPUs. According to their blog, “While Run:ai currently supports only Nvidia GPUs, open-sourcing the software will enable it to extend its availability to the entire AI ecosystem” (see SCMP).

This acquisition reflects the growing trend of consolidation within the tech sector, as regulators on both sides of the Atlantic ramp up their scrutiny of such deals to prevent potential harms to market competition (as noted by Reuters).