US senator raises concerns over Nvidia deal

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns over Nvidia’s acquisition of SchedMD, the developer behind the widely used Slurm software that powers many of the world’s supercomputers.

In a letter sent to U.S. government officials, including leaders at the Department of Energy and Department of Defense, Warren questioned the potential national security implications of the deal and the government’s reliance on Nvidia’s technology, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The acquisition, completed in December, gives Nvidia control over Slurm, an open-source workload management system used in roughly 60% of global supercomputers. The software plays a critical role in managing computing tasks across high-performance systems used for scientific research, defense simulations, and artificial intelligence development.

Warren warned that Nvidia’s growing influence across both hardware and software layers could reduce competition and create risks if too much control is concentrated in a single company.

In her letter, she asked officials to assess how dependent U.S. government systems are on Nvidia’s products and whether any national security risks have been identified following the acquisition.

“NVIDIA’s acquisition of Slurm may give the company disproportionate control over a critical chokepoint,” she argued, suggesting that competitors could be disadvantaged if Nvidia prioritizes its own ecosystem.

The deal is part of a broader strategy by Nvidia to expand beyond chip manufacturing into software and infrastructure that support AI and supercomputing systems.

Warren also pointed to previous Nvidia acquisitions, including Bright Computing and Run:ai, which have drawn regulatory attention over potential antitrust concerns.

Some industry experts have expressed concerns that Nvidia could favor its own hardware in integrated systems, while others believe the company’s resources could help accelerate development of the Slurm platform.

In response, Nvidia said it remains committed to supporting Slurm as an open-source project and will continue to improve the software for a wide range of users.

The debate highlights growing scrutiny of major tech companies as they expand control over critical digital infrastructure powering artificial intelligence and national defense systems.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada