Nvidia closes $700M Run:ai acquisition after regulatory hurdles

Acquisition and Regulatory Approval - Nvidia completed its $700 million acquisition of Israeli AI firm Run:ai after a series of regulatory roadblocks [5][9] - The European Commission granted unconditional approval to the deal in December, concluding it would not raise competition concerns [2][4] - The EU antitrust watchdog initially warned the deal threatened competition in the markets where the companies operate [10] Market Dominance and Antitrust Scrutiny - Nvidia dominates the AI graphics processor market with an 80% share [11] - The European Commission's probe focused on practices that could strengthen Nvidia's control over the GPU market [3] - The U S Department of Justice is investigating the acquisition on antitrust grounds [1] Run:ai's Software and Ecosystem - Run:ai plans to make its software open-source, enabling it to extend availability to the entire AI ecosystem [6][8] - Currently, Run:ai supports only Nvidia GPUs [6] Regulatory Environment - Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have increased scrutiny of tech giants' acquisitions of startups due to concerns about potential rivals being shut down [7]