Nvidia's Acquisition of Run:ai Approved by EU

The European Commission has approved Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s acquisition of Israeli firm Run:ai, removing a significant regulatory obstacle for the deal. On Friday, the Commission concluded that the acquisition wouldn’t threaten competition.

The decision was founded on the assessment that Nvidia, a leading artificial intelligence company, lacks the ability or incentive to disrupt compatibility between its highly sought-after graphic processing units (GPUs) and competitors' software. The EU's merger watchdog had set a deadline of December 20 to decide on the acquisition or to start an extensive investigation.

Nvidia, a prominent chip manufacturer, has faced increased scrutiny from global antitrust regulators this year, aiming to prevent a few tech giants from monopolizing emerging technologies and hindering potential rivals.

Nvidia's agreement with Run:ai, announced in April, garnered EU attention after Italian regulators referred the case to the Commission using a legal tool to analyze so-called killer acquisitions, which typically don’t meet the usual criteria for merger assessments.

The investigation focused on the deal's potential impact on the supply of discrete GPUs utilized in data centers and the GPU orchestration software market. The regulators concluded that Run:ai does not hold a significant share in the orchestration software sector. Additionally, they noted that customers could still access services from Run:ai's competitors or develop their software internally.

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