Run:ai To Open Source Software As Nvidia Completes $700m Buy

Nvidia said it has completed its acquisition of Israeli AI firm Run:ai after EU regulators cleared the deal.

The European Commission gave unconditional approval to the deal, reportedly worth $700 million (£558m), earlier in December after saying in October that a review would need to be carried out on antitrust grounds.

Nvidia is the dominant maker of AI accelerator chips, controlling about 80 percent of the market at a time when such technologies are a primary focal point for the tech industry.

Run:ai, which makes software that allows customers to orchestrate GPU clouds for AI, said it would open-source its software.

Open source plan

The start-up’s co-founders Omri Geller and Ronen Dar said in a statement that the move would allow the software to broaden from Nvidia support and “extend its availability to the entire AI ecosystem”.

They said that as part of Nvidia the company would continue to allow customers to choose the tools, platforms, and frameworks best suited to their needs.

Regulators had been concerned that Nvidia’s purchase of the company could help it extend its dominance of the AI chip market.

In September Bloomberg reported that Nvidia and other tech companies had been served with subpoenas as part of a US Justice Department probe into Nvidia’s business practices, including the Run:ai acquisition, which was announced in April.

Regulators were also looking at whether Nvidia gives preferential pricing to customers who use its technology exclusively or buy complete systems rather than solely processors.

Regulatory scrutiny

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has said he prioritises customers who can make use of the company’s products as soon as they are received, in order to prevent stockpiling and speed up broader AI adoption.

Nvidia has said its success is due to the quality of its products.

The company’s sales have been growing rapidly each quarter as tech companies snap up its processors to build out AI infrastructure.

In China, where Nvidia is not allowed to sell its top-end processors, the biggest tech firms are stockpiling chips Nvidia engineered to comply with US export restrictions, according to figures from companies and industry analysts.

EU regulators have also been probing Nvidia’s business practices in an investigation separate from the Run:ai acquisition, reports said this month.