The European Commission approved Nvidia’s proposed acquisition of Run:ai Thursday (Dec. 19), saying that it did so unconditionally and that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area (EEA).
The case had been referred to the Commission in September by the Italian competition authority, which asked the Commission to determine whether the proposed acquisition would affect competition in the EEA, the Commission said in a Thursday press release.
Nvidia designs and supplies graphic processing units (GPUs) for data center applications, while Run:ai supplies GPU orchestration software that enables corporate clients to manage their AI compute infrastructure, according to the release.
The Commission determined that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns because Nvidia cannot hamper the compatibility of its GPUs with competing GPU orchestration software and because customers have access to other GPU orchestration software that offers alternatives to Run:ai, per the release.
“Since Nvidia is a leading producer of key hardware for AI applications used in the EU and beyond, it was important to carefully check whether its acquisition of start-up software company Run:ai may have negatively impacted competition in critical markets which are key for future competitiveness,” Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for clean, just and competitive transition at the European Commission, said in the release. “But our market investigation confirmed to us that other software options compatible with Nvidia’s hardware will remain available in the market.”
When announcing its plans to acquire Run:ai in April, Nvidia said the deal will help customers make more efficient use of their AI computing resources.
“Run:ai enables enterprise customers to manage and optimize their compute infrastructure, whether on premises, in the cloud or in hybrid environments,” Nvidia said in an April 24 blog post.
Run:ai Co-Founder and CEO Omri Geller said in the post that the company has collaborated with Nvidia since 2020 and that both companies “share a passion for helping our customers make the most of their infrastructure.”
The European Commission announced in October that Nvidia would need to obtain antitrust clearance for the proposed acquisition, saying there were concerns that the deal could undermine competition within the sectors both companies operate in.
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