European Union: Nvidia filed suit challenging EC's investigation of Run:ai Labs acquisition under the EU Merger Regulation (Case T-15/25)

On 10 January 2025, Nvidia Corp. filed a lawsuit against the European Commission at the General Court of the European Union (Case T-15/25), challenging the Commission’s acceptance of a referral from the Italian competition authority (AGCM) to assess Nvidia's acquisition of AI startup Run:ai. Nvidia argues that the Commission’s 31 October 2024 decision (Case M.11766) to investigate the transaction under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) was unlawful, as the deal fell below EU and national merger control thresholds. The lawsuit cites a September 2024 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Illumina v Commission, which limits the Commission's ability to accept referrals from national authorities lacking jurisdiction under their own laws. Nvidia claims that the decision breaches principles of institutional balance, legal certainty, proportionality, and equal treatment and contends that the referral request was made outside the permitted timeframe. While the lawsuit does not affect the approved Run:ai deal, a ruling in favour of Nvidia could influence the future scope of the Commission’s merger control powers over smaller transactions. Italy submitted a referral request to the European Commission under Article 22(1) of the EUMR, which allows Member States to request the Commission to examine mergers that do not have an EU dimension but affect trade within the Single Market and threaten to significantly impact competition within the requesting Member State's territory. The Commission accepted Italy's request on 31 October 2024, and the transaction was formally notified to the Commission on 15 November 2024.