Southern 2x Long NVIDIA ETF (07788) has dropped more than 3% during Thursday's trading session, with shares recently down 2.59% to HK$174.65 on turnover of approximately HK$1.44 million.

According to market reports citing two informed sources, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether NVIDIA (NVDA.US) attempted to circumvent antitrust scrutiny in connection with a deal it struck last year with artificial intelligence chip manufacturer Groq. At the time of the agreement, Groq characterized the arrangement as a "non-exclusive licensing deal" that permitted NVIDIA to utilize Groq's custom-designed chips specifically optimized for running AI workloads. As part of the agreement, Groq's CEO Jonathan Ross and COO Sunny Madra both joined NVIDIA.

Reports indicate that AI companies have entered into numerous similar transactions, including licensing technology from other firms while hiring their key personnel, without completing outright acquisitions. Such arrangements often bypass the automatic government reviews typically applied to traditional mergers and acquisitions, which are designed to determine whether a transaction could harm market competition.