China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has escalated its antitrust investigation into U.S. tech giant Nvidia, citing potential violations of competition laws linked to its 2020 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies. The move follows a preliminary review that identified risks of market dominance in critical semiconductor sectors.
In a Monday statement, SAMR accused Nvidia of breaching both China's Anti-Monopoly Law and specific conditions attached to its $6.9 billion Mellanox purchase. The 2020 approval required Nvidia to maintain fair pricing and prevent technological discrimination against Chinese clients for five years, addressing concerns about stifling competition in GPU accelerators and high-speed networking hardware.
Analysts suggest the probe reflects China's growing assertiveness in regulating foreign tech firms amid U.S.-China tech tensions. Nvidia, which controls over 90% of China's $7 billion AI chip market, faces potential operational constraints as Beijing pushes for domestic semiconductor self-reliance.
The investigation could reshape competitive dynamics in cloud computing and AI infrastructure markets, with Chinese firms like Huawei potentially benefiting from reduced foreign competition. SAMR has not disclosed potential penalties, but past antitrust cases have resulted in fines up to 10% of a company's annual revenue.
