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On July 15, France's competition authority confirmed that it was investigating alleged anti-competitive behavior by Nvidia, the world's leading chipmaker.

According to foreign media reports, at a press conference that day, Chairman Benoit Coeure told the media that "if the investigation confirms that there is misconduct, the company will face charges."

However, Benoit Couré pointed out that the lawsuit will not be filed immediately. "Yes, there will be a notice of the lawsuit, but it will not be immediate... We have to give it time."

Nandu reporters have sorted out the timeline of this case. Last September, the French Competition Authority raided Nvidia's French office. At that time, the authority did not directly name Nvidia, but only said that a company in the "graphics card field" was under investigation, involving concerns that dominant cloud computing companies might exclude smaller competitors.

In February of this year, Nvidia proactively disclosed that it had received requests from antitrust regulators in France, the European Union and other countries and regions to provide information on its GPU sales and distribution supply.

In June, French regulators cited potential abuses by chip suppliers in a report on competition in generative AI.

In this latest report, the French Competition Authority stated that computer component suppliers such as Nvidia develop graphics processors (GPUs) and AI accelerators, which are important components for training generative AI models. Since 2023, the demand for AI industry has exploded, while chips are facing a shortage of supply.

As a result, French authorities are paying close attention to the AI ​​industry's reliance on Nvidia's CUDA chip programming model, and have confirmed that a raid on Nvidia last September took place.

It is reported that according to French antitrust law, if the allegations are proven, Nvidia will face a fine of up to 10% of its global operating income in France.

In addition, news broke in early June that the U.S. Department of Justice was leading an investigation into Nvidia and its market position in supplying high-end semiconductors needed for artificial intelligence computing.

Comprehensive/Compiled by: Southern Metropolis Daily reporter Huang Liling