Nvidia is under investigation in China.

Today (December 9), China announced it is launching an investigation into Nvidia Corporation on suspicion that the American chip giant violated the country's antitrust laws, according to CCTV.

Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs

CCTV reported on December 9th that China's market regulators, with their authority to handle antitrust issues, have launched an investigation into Nvidia's operations in the East Asian country.

Nvidia is accused of violating commitments made in 2020, when the American corporation acquired Israeli technology company Mellanox for $6.9 billion.

Mellanox was then considered key to gaining strategic access to the data centers that powered artificial intelligence (AI). Therefore, the deal required approval from regulatory bodies in the United States, Israel, the European Union, and China.

Following a review period, Chinese market regulators approved the Mellanox deal in April 2020. It is unclear which antitrust laws in China Nvidia violated in relation to that commitment.

Nvidia's stock price fell after China announced an investigation.

The incident comes amid recent weeks of tension between the US and China over export restrictions related to chip manufacturing technology, in which Nvidia is a major player.

Beijing announced last week a ban on the export of certain materials essential for semiconductor manufacturing to the United States, following Washington's implementation of measures restricting China's capabilities in the high-power chip manufacturing industry.

Among the materials banned from export by China are the metals gallium, antimony, and germanium, citing national security concerns.

For its part, the US added 140 Chinese companies to its list of restricted chip exports, including Piotech and SiCarrier.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nvidia-bi-dieu-tra-o-trung-quoc-185241209192857484.htm