Nvidia and AMD have been accused of price fixing in the GPU market. The class action suit alleges that Nvidia and AMD colluded to keep prices artificially high, by releasing products at the same time and at similar prices.
Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California read aloud an email which plaintiffs’ attorneys say contained evidence of a conspiracy to fix prices. Out of 9 million documents turned over in discovery, of particular interest was a 2002 email from Nvidia senior vice president of marketing, Dan Vivoli, to ATI’s president and chief operating officer, Dave Orton.
Vivoli wrote, in part, “I really think we should work harder together on the marketing front. As you and I have talked about, even though we are competitors, we have the common goal of making our category a well positioned, respected playing field. $5 and $8 stocks are a result of no respect.”
Judge Alsup considered the email strong evidence in the price fixing case, stating, “That’s not good for the defense. A jury would like to see this.”
Alsup indicated that he would take the class certification issue under submission at the close of arguments.