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What just happened? Nvidia has denied a report that it received a subpoena from the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of an antitrust probe. The initial claim, which came from Bloomberg, sent Nvidia's share price crashing a further 2.4% in post-market trading after it had already dipped more than 9% during regular hours, wiping $279 billion off the company's value – a US record for a one-day loss.
According to Bloomberg's report from earlier this week, DOJ officials subpoenaed Nvidia and companies including AMD and Intel as part of its antitrust investigation into whether Team Green is abusing its dominating position in the AI market.
Bloomberg wrote that there were concerns Nvidia could be giving preferential supply and pricing to customers who use its technology exclusively or buy its complete systems. It also reported that the DOJ was investigating Nvidia's acquisition of Israeli AI startup Run:ai, suspecting that the deal could lock Run:ai customers into using Nvidia chips. There have also been claims that it threatened to cut off or delay orders for customers buying AI chips from rivals such as AMD, Intel, or smaller startups.
Now, Nvidia has denied Bloomberg's report. Company representatives said that it enquired with the DoJ to confirm it has not been subpoenaed, adding, "Nonetheless, we are happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business."
Nvidia's share price over the last five days
The DOJ has not said which companies are part of its investigation, and while some firms have received subpoenas, it appears that Nvidia is not one of them – at least not yet.
The DOJ launched a probe into whether Nvidia used anti-competitive tactics to maintain its grip on the AI market last month. Regulators are also investigating whether Nvidia pushed cloud providers into making bundled purchases, such as buying Mellanox networking gear alongside Nvidia's A100 or H100 AI chips.
Nvidia is estimated to have more than 80% of the AI chip market, a share that has helped it become the third most valuable firm in the world. However, its market cap fell a record $279 billion this week on the back of weak data on the state of the manufacturing sector and Bloomberg's report. The decline has also led to fears that the generative AI bubble may soon burst.