NVIDIA is suspected of violating antitrust laws, and the State Administration for Market Regulation of China has decided to file an investigation in accordance with the law
NVIDIA is under investigation by the State Administration for Market Regulation of China for allegedly violating the Anti-Monopoly Law. Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice also sought to investigate it. The Chinese government approved NVIDIA's acquisition of Mellanox Technologies for $7 billion, but with additional conditions requiring Mellanox to provide relevant information to competitors within 90 days after offering new products. Antitrust officials are concerned that NVIDIA may restrict companies from turning to other suppliers and penalize buyers who do not use its AI chips. France has also listed NVIDIA as a subject of investigation
According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the Market Regulation Administration has launched an investigation into NVIDIA (NVDA.US) for allegedly violating the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China and the announcement regarding the anti-monopoly review decision on NVIDIA's acquisition of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (Market Regulation Administration Announcement [2020] No. 16).
The Chinese government has approved NVIDIA's $7 billion acquisition of Israeli computer networking equipment manufacturer Mellanox, but with the condition that Mellanox must provide information about new products to competitors within 90 days after supplying new products to NVIDIA. NVIDIA has also agreed to give Chinese chip manufacturers the opportunity to ensure that their products are well compatible with Mellanox's technology.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice also sought to investigate whether NVIDIA violated antitrust laws. Sources say that antitrust officials are concerned that NVIDIA makes it harder for companies to switch to other suppliers and penalizes buyers who do not specifically use its AI chips.
France has also publicly listed NVIDIA as a target of its investigation into AI chips. Benoit Coeure, head of the French antitrust agency, stated at a press conference in July that the company could "one day" face antitrust charges there