On Monday (December 9, 2024), China declared that an antitrust investigation into Nvidia had begun. The move is seen as a response to restrictions imposed by the United States on the Chinese semiconductor sector.
The investigation will be conducted by SAMR (State Administration for Market Regulation) and will also investigate possible breaches of commitments by Nvidia in the acquisition of Mellanox Technologies in 2020. How Nvidia might have broken antimonopoly laws was not made clear by SAMR.
Nvidia has not commented on the case, but the China investigation led to a 2.5% drop in its shares.
On December 2, 2024, the United States limited exports to 140 Chinese semiconductor companies, including chip equipment makers.
More than 100 Chinese companies have been added to a restricted trade list as a result of the recently enacted policy, which prohibits the sale of specific kinds of chips and machinery to China. The move is the third round of restrictions against Beijing, following initiatives in 2022 and 2023.
To retaliate against this American policy, China has banned exports to the United States of minerals critical to semiconductor manufacturing. Before the restrictions, Nvidia was the leader in China’s AI (artificial intelligence) chip market.
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