US Department of Justice investigates Nvidia-Groq deal over alleged attempt to evade antitrust scrutiny

BlockBeats news, September 10 — According to people familiar with the matter, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Nvidia (NVDA.O) sought to circumvent antitrust review in order to reach a deal signed last year with AI chipmaker Groq. Groq at the time described the deal as a "non-exclusive licensing agreement" that allowed Nvidia to use chips Groq customized specifically for running AI tasks. As part of the arrangement, Groq CEO Jonathan Ross and COO Sunny Madra joined Nvidia.

AI companies have struck multiple similar deals, including obtaining technology licenses from other companies and hiring their key employees, without completing direct acquisitions. Such arrangements can often avoid the automatic government review applied to traditional M&A transactions, which is intended to determine whether a deal would harm market competition.