Nvidia Completes $700 Million Acquisition of Run:ai After Antitrust Scrutiny

Nvidia has completed its acquisition of Israeli AI firm Run:ai, the startup announced Monday, following antitrust scrutiny from regulators, as reported by Reuters. The European Commission granted unconditional approval to Nvidia's $700 million bid for Run:ai earlier in December after initially expressing concerns in October that the deal required EU antitrust clearance.

The EU antitrust watchdog had expressed concerns that the acquisition could strengthen Nvidia's dominance in the market for graphics processing units (GPUs), which are crucial for AI-related tasks. Nvidia holds a commanding 80% market share in this sector. However, the European Commission ultimately concluded in December that the deal would not pose a significant threat to competition.

The US Department of Justice is also investigating Nvidia's buyout of Run:ai on antitrust grounds, according to a report by Politico in August.

In a blog post, Run:ai announced its plans to open-source its software. "While Run:ai currently supports only Nvidia GPUs, open sourcing the software will enable it to extend its availability to the entire AI ecosystem," the company stated.