After nearly two years of investigation, chip-maker AMD has finally announced that the US Department of Justice is closing its antitrust investigation of ATi, a move analysts predicted from as early as the beginning of the investigation. Competitor nVidia, which was subpoenaed at the same time as ATi, confirmed that the DoJ had also come to a similarly decision for them.
The story first emerged in December of 2006, just a few months after the DoJ had given antitrust approval to the AMD/ATi merger. The acquisition was a big gamble for AMD on many fronts, and, fittingly enough, the DoJ announced soon after that it was investigating ATi for pricing and marketing practices in the sale of its GPUs. Although details are scarce as to the exact results of the DoJ"s investigation, it seems as if the price-fixing allegations thrown at ATi and nVidia did not hold water.