ParTec AG files patent infringement lawsuit against NVIDIA at UPC in Munich

Munich, October 28, 2024 – ParTec AG (ISIN: DE000A3E5A34 / WKN:A3E5A3) and its licensing agent BF exaQC AG have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against NVIDIA Corporation at the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in Munich (see ad hoc announcement dated October 28, 2024). The subject of this lawsuit is the infringement of ParTec patents in the use of microprocessors and their cooperation. The lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring NVIDIA to refrain from distributing essential products of its GPU product portfolio in patent-protected countries in Europe. In addition, the lawsuit demands, among other things, disclosure of prior sales activities as well as damages.

ParTec, along with BF exaQC AG, holds an extensive patent portfolio in the field of supercomputing and microprocessors. A core element of the patent portfolio is the dynamic modular system architecture (dMSA) developed and patented by ParTec. Among other things, it can be used to intelligently assign microprocesses of different designs and capabilities, such as CPU and GPU, to each other, even during a calculation. ParTec's dMSA is now used in many of Europe's largest supercomputers and plays the central important role in artificial intelligence supercomputers.

ParTec and NVIDIA began discussions in 2019 about a potential collaboration in the development of GPUs for supercomputers. During this process, ParTec presented its ParaStation software, its most important patents and the dMSA, providing copies of each. A joint development of the use of GPUs was not pursued by NVIDIA. However, in the following years, the two companies collaborated on the construction of various supercomputers, for which NVIDIA supplied GPUs.

As a global leader in supercomputers and quantum computers, ParTec is building a European infrastructure of large and AI-specialized supercomputers, which include NVIDIA products. However, no discussions are currently taking place between ParTec and NVIDIA regarding the supply of GPUs for upcoming projects. NVIDIA has stated that this decision is based on ParTec’s recent lawsuit against Microsoft, NVIDIA’s largest clients according to its own statement, in Texas, USA, concerning the same patents now asserted in Munich. This rejection continues to this day and could have competitive and antitrust implications.

Bernhard Frohwitter, CEO of ParTec, stated, ‘NVIDIA and Microsoft, in particular, utilize our patented dMSA technology, which is essential for the operation of a high-performance AI supercomputing infrastructure. The U.S. currently holds a near-monopoly in this area, which places European companies in a highly dependent position, threatening Europe’s standing as a high-tech location. We cannot accept our technology’s usage while our rights assertion blocks collaboration.