BRUSSELS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are

asking Nvidia ( NVDA ) customers if they have been offered

discounts to buy the company's graphics processing unit (GPU)

software products together with its hardware as they scrutinise

its $700 million bid for Run:ai.

In a questionnaire seen by Reuters, the EU watchdog focused

on potential practices that could tighten Nvidia's ( NVDA ) grip on GPUs,

where it has a near-monopoly with an 84% market share, far ahead

of rivals Intel ( INTC ) and AMD.

GPUs are chips that break down a computer task into smaller

pieces and process them together. They are highly sought after

by technology companies for their data centres, by video game

console makers, and even by bitcoin miners.

The European Commission, which acts as the European Union's

competition enforcer, has previously warned that the deal

threatens competition in markets where the two companies operate

and has set a Dec. 20 deadline for its preliminary review.

"Does a company that offers a bundle of GPU Orchestration

Software and hardware/GPU have a competitive advantage?" the

Commission document asked Nvidia ( NVDA ) customers.

"To your knowledge, have end-users been required or induced

(for example, with discounts) to purchase GPU Orchestration

Software as a bundle together with software or other hardware?"

Respondents were also asked about the impact of the deal on

their business if Nvidia ( NVDA ) were to run Run:ai as open-source.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was not immediately available for comment.