(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has sent a subpoena to Nvidia as the company widens its investigation into the AI giant’s antitrust practices, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the probe.
The competition watchdog had previously sent out questionnaires and has now sent legally binding requests to Nvidia, the report said. Other companies had also received subpoenas, the report said.
Officials worry that the chipmaker is making it harder to switch to other suppliers and penalizing buyers who don’t exclusively use its artificial intelligence chips, the report said.
The move marks an escalation in the crackdown the chip giant has reportedly been under. Last month, Information reported that the Justice Department had opened an investigation into the company after complaints from competitors that the company may have abused its market dominance.
The subpoena comes at a sensitive time for companies involved in AI, as investors are recalibrating their expectations around the technology amid fears of overspending.
Nvidia’s quarterly forecast, which fell short of investor expectations last week, has also dampened optimism.
The company’s shares fell 2.5% in extended trading on Tuesday, after losing 9.5% in regular trading.
Nvidia declined to respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shinjini Ganguli)
