Nvidia Corporation has denied reports that it has been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice amid concerns about its dominance in the artificial intelligence chip market.
The chip designer said on Wednesday it has not been subpoenaed, but said it was “happy to answer questions regulators may have about our business”.
The statement was released after it was reported on Tuesday that Nvidia has received a subpoena as antitrust officials seek evidence that it violated competition laws. The action would mean Nvidia is legally obliged to hand over requested information.
Nvidia has received a request for information in the form of a civil investigative demand, which is often known as a subpoena, Bloomberg reported.
In a statement, a spokesman for Nvidia said: “Nvidia wins on merit, as reflected in our benchmark results and value to customers, and customers can choose whatever solution is best for them.
“We have inquired with the US Department of Justice and have not been subpoenaed.”
• Looming competition investigation puts brakes on Nvidia
Nvidia is the leading supplier of chips that can power generative AI. It has sold chips to more than 40,000 companies chasing superfast computing speeds, from carmakers and drug discovery businesses, to weather forecasters and social media giants. Some of its biggest customers include Microsoft, Meta, Tesla and Alphabet, the owner of Google.
The DOJ is reported to have been asking tech companies about Nvidia’s business practices in recent weeks, including questions about the company’s hardware bundling practices.
A sharp fall in Nvidia’s shares shaved $279 billion off Nvidia’s market capitalisation on Tuesday, the single largest one-day decline in market value on record for a US company. The stock fell a further 1.7 per cent to $106.21 on Wednesday, but was up 0.6 per cent at $106.80 in after-hours trading.
Nvidia, founded in 1993 and based in Santa Clara, California, has become the leader in the race to produce chips that can power generative AI. It has supplied chips to more than 40,000 companies chasing superfast computing speeds, from carmakers and drug discovery businesses, to weather forecasters and social media groups.
In the first quarter of the year, Nvidia won 88 per cent of the GPU market, up from 84 per cent a year ago, according to Jon Peddie Research.
The semiconductor specialist, which was briefly the world’s most valuable public company in June with a valuation of $3.35 trillion, has seen its valuation fall to $2.65 trillion, behind Microsoft’s $3 trillion and Apple’s $3.4 trillion.
The DOJ declined to comment.