(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation into Nvidia (NASDAQ:) following complaints from competitors that the company may have abused its dominant market position by selling artificial intelligence chips, The Information reported on Thursday.
Justice Department investigators are looking into whether Nvidia pressured cloud providers to buy multiple of the company’s products, the report said, citing people involved in the discussions.
The report added that the investigation is also looking into whether Nvidia charges customers a higher price for networking equipment if they want to buy AI chips from competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) and Intel (NASDAQ:)
Nvidia controls about 80% of the AI chip market.
The company has not commented on reports of a Justice Department investigation but said it would provide any information regulators request.
“We compete by building on decades of investment and innovation, rigorously complying with all regulations, making NVIDIA solutions available in every cloud and on-premises for every enterprise, and ensuring that customers can choose the solution that’s best for them,” an NVIDIA spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Thursday evening.
The report said investigators contacted several of Nvidia’s competitors to gather more details.
US progressive groups and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren have pressured the Justice Department to investigate Nvidia over competition concerns.
The anti-monopoly and government oversight groups have criticized Nvidia’s practice of offering software and hardware bundles, among other things. That practice has been challenged by French competition authorities, and they are preparing to file charges.