The Nvidia-Mellanox deal was announced in 2019. China’s market regulator approved the deal in April 2020 on the condition that Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerators, Mellanox high-speed network interconnect equipment, and related software and accessories continue to be supplied to the Chinese market based on “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory principles”.
The Nvidia antitrust probe “marks the start of what is likely to be a systematic strategy to retaliate against the US [and] a harbinger of more aggressive measures to come”, said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, a financial advisory firm. “This isn’t just a regulatory issue; it’s a calculated geopolitical manoeuvre,” he said, adding that China was sending a strong message that it won’t hesitate to push back.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Its US-listed shares fell 1.8 per cent to US$142.44 in pre-market trading on Monday.
Beijing’s regulatory move against Nvidia comes just days after China’s state-backed industry associations urged their members to be cautious about purchasing US chips, a response to Washington’s latest round of restrictions. The China Semiconductor Industry Association, which includes Nvidia Technical Service (Beijing) as a member, for instance, called on its members to shun chips from US suppliers, saying they are “no longer safe, no longer reliable”.
