Intel—EU fined Intel for anti-competitive practices against AMD, with fine upheld at EUR 376M in 2025
The European Commission originally fined Intel EUR 1.06 billion in 2009 for abusing its dominant position in the x86 CPU market. Intel used hidden rebates and paid manufacturers (HP, Acer, Lenovo) to delay or stop production of AMD-powered products between 2002-2006. After lengthy legal challenges, the EU General Court upheld the ruling in December 2025 with a reduced fine of EUR 376 million (approximately $278M). The case remains one of the largest antitrust actions in the semiconductor industry.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antitrust & Competition | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -1.180 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
European Commission imposed EUR 1.06B fine on Intel for anti-competitive rebates to exclude AMD
On 13 May 2009, the European Commission fined Intel EUR 1.06 billion for abusing its dominant position in the x86 CPU market. Intel used hidden rebates and paid manufacturers HP, Acer, and Lenovo to delay or halt production of AMD-powered products between 2002 and 2006. This was the largest single fine imposed by a competition regulator on an individual company at that time.