Nvidia, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) chip manufacturers based in California, reportedly experienced a police raid on its offices in France this week. The measure was taken as part of an overall investigation by French antitrust authorities into the cloud computing sector.
Wall Street Magazine They reported news of the break-in on September 28, but neither Nvidia nor French officials made an official comment on the incident.
A press release on the website of the French antitrust agency Autorité de la Concurrence states the following:n unreported audit in the graphics card industry. According to this forwardedIn the case, a judge authorized the raid on the grounds that the company “engaged in anti-competitive practices in the graphics card industry.”
But the pressure itself “It presupposes the existence of a violation of law attributable to the company”The agency’s message states the following.
ICompetition Authority It expresses the opinion published as a result of a one-year study on the cloud computing sector. The study, published in June 2023, does not mention Nvidia, but focuses on other technology companies, especially Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. According to agency data, Accounts for 80% of growth in spending on public cloud infrastructure and applications in France in 2021:

“Amazon and Microsoft generated 46% and 17% of their revenue from IaaS and PaaS services, respectively, in 2021. Given their financial capabilities and digital ecosystems, these hyperscalers are positioned to disrupt the evolution of their competition.”

To counter this trend, the agency is considering various options under national competition laws and European data law.
Nvidia has come under regulatory scrutiny for its unique position as a maker of hardware for the digital industry’s most innovative sectors. The company’s latest quarterly report revealed: US regulators reportedly request to limit exports of AI chips to “certain Middle Eastern countries”. The next day, the US Department of Commerce denied the news.

Translation by Walter Rizzo