Semiconductor giant Nvidia (NVDA) finds itself at the center of new antitrust concerns after receiving subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), according to a report from Bloomberg. The subpoenas are tied to potential violations of monopolistic and antitrust rules.

Former Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division Bill Baer joins Catalysts to discuss this latest development.

Baer notes that there is no clear clarity around the DOJ's intentions with these subpoenas, but there is speculation that "Nvidia may be trying to force users of its processors.... to let Nvidia be an exclusive supplier and charging higher prices for those customers who are sourcing chips from multiple companies." However, he cautions that a subpoena is just one of the first steps, and this investigation will take a considerable amount of time, stating, "This is not a matter of weeks, it's months."

Explaining the broader impact, Baer says, "One of the things the Federal Trade Commission and the antitrust division are trying to do is get ahead of the curve. Figure out where a market may be trending toward a monopoly and intervene earlier. They're certainly trying to do that in the AI space."

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This post was written by Angel Smith