Michael Burry Calls Nvidia 'Mafia-Like,' Says AI Chip Market Could Face Antitrust Scrutiny

Michael Burry claims Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) blocked Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) from a major AI infrastructure deal and says the Justice Department has been probing the chip giant for nearly two years.

The artificial intelligence boom has minted a new set of corporate titans. But according to one of Wall Street's most famous contrarians, the industry's biggest winner may also be flexing its dominance in ways that could eventually attract regulators.

Burry, best known for predicting the housing crash chronicled in The Big Short, accused Nvidia of acting in a "mafia-like" manner in the AI chip market and suggested the company's behavior could become the subject of antitrust scrutiny.

In a post on X, Burry alleged that Nvidia used its influence to prevent AMD from winning a key AI infrastructure contract tied to Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL).

Nvidia did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

AI Infrastructure Tensions

According to Burry, the dispute centered on a planned data-center project linked to OpenAI.

He claimed Oracle had borrowed heavily to secure land and order hardware designed around Nvidia's next-generation Blackwell chips. But OpenAI allegedly backed away from the arrangement, arguing that the chips would be outdated by the time the facility was completed.

"The chips will be dated before the building is even ready," Burry wrote.

He further alleged that Nvidia stepped in and paid roughly $150 million to block AMD from securing the contract tied to the data-center buildout.

"This is how NVDA throws its weight around to block AMD use by its customers," Burry said. "It is mafia-like and should be an antitrust case."

Antitrust Clouds Over AI Chips

Burry also claimed that the U.S. Justice Department has been investigating Nvidia for nearly two years, though he expressed skepticism that the current administration would pursue a case.

Neither Nvidia nor the Justice Department has publicly confirmed the claims referenced in Burry's post.

The accusations arrive at a time when Nvidia's dominance in AI chips has become one of the defining forces in global technology markets. The company's GPUs power the majority of large-scale AI systems used by companies, including Meta Platforms, Inc., OpenAI and other cloud and AI providers.

While rivals like AMD and Intel have been racing to challenge Nvidia's lead, the company continues to command the largest share of the rapidly expanding AI accelerator market.

AI Boom Under Scrutiny

Burry suggested the episode may signal broader stresses emerging in the AI infrastructure boom.

"This is an absolutely huge deal," he wrote, adding that "the signs are showing up in several places."

His comments underscore a growing debate on Wall Street about whether the explosive spending on AI data centers and chips could eventually collide with market realities — or regulatory scrutiny — as the industry matures.

This image was generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.

This article Michael Burry Calls Nvidia 'Mafia-Like,' Says AI Chip Market Could Face Antitrust Scrutiny originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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