China launches probe into Nvidia's acquisition of Israeli tech firm



| Shares of Nvidia fell Monday after Chinese regulators announced a probe into the American tech giant over claims it may be violating one of China’s antitrust laws. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Shares of Nvidia fell Monday after Chinese regulators announced a probe into the American tech giant over claims it may be violating one of China's antitrust laws.

The investigation by China's State Administration for Market Regulation relates to Nvidia's multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Israeli tech firm Mellanox, according to state-run China Central Television.

The report published Monday does not specify what exactly Chinese regulators are exploring about the $6.5 billion deal, which was first announced in 2019 and completed the following year.

"In recent days, due to Nvidia's suspected violation of China's anti-monopoly law and the State Administration for Market Regulation's restrictive conditions around Nvidia's acquisition of Mellanox shares...the State Administration for Market Regulation is opening a probe into Nvidia in accordance with law," reads the statement issued by Chinese authorities, according to translation by CNBC.

Shares of Nvidia were down $4.34 or 3.04% and trading at $138.10 as of 10:50 a.m. EST Monday.

The Chinese investigation is the latest salvo in a back-and-forth exchange between China and the United States over the vital semiconductor chips, which are seen as essential to establishing dominance in the growing field of artificial intelligence.
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Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden again tightened the regulations for American companies, which were already forbidden to export semiconductor technology to China.

Washington hopes the strict rules will slow Beijing's advances in AI-related weaponry and other defense systems.

Biden has on multiple occasions enacted legislation limiting Chinese access to U.S. microchip technology, deeming it an issue of national security.

Founded in 1993, NVIDIA last month replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

In October, NVIDIA briefly took over the top spot from Apple as the world's most valuable company.