Nvidia sues EU antitrust regulators for investigating AI startup Run:ai

Nvidia, a U.S.-based chipmaker, has sued EU antitrust authorities for accepting an Italian request to examine its acquisition of AI start-up Run:ai last year. They claim they have flouted a previous court ruling that restricted their merger power on minor deals.

The case has no impact on the Run:ai merger, which was approved by the EU Competition Watchdog in December of last year. However, a decision that favours Nvidia could further limit the regulator's merger powers.

In recent years, businesses have expressed concern about the European Commission's use of a seldom-used power known as Article 22 in assessing small deals, even though they are below the EU merger revenue threshold.

Companies criticise these moves as being regulatory overreach.

In a landmark decision in September of last year, the European Court of Justice said that the Commission could not encourage or accept the referrals from national enforcers for deals with no European dimension, as they did not have the power to review such deals in accordance with their national laws.

Nvidia cited this ruling in a lawsuit it filed at the General Court of Luxembourg, Europe's 2nd highest court, according to an entry on the website.

Nvidia stated that "the decision illegally accepted a request for referral from the Italian Autorita Garante della Concorrenza, regarding a transaction which fell below the EU Merger Regulation thresholds and member state merger controls, based upon the AGCM exercising its loosely defined ex post discretionary call in powers."

The Italian government said that the decision of regulators to accept the request from Italy violates principles of institution balance, legal clarity, proportionality, and equal treatment.

The case is T-15/25 Nvidia V Commission. (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton; Foo Yunchee)

(source: Reuters)