The move against Nvidia is Beijing’s latest riposte to escalating US technology curbs, coming just a week after the Chinese government banned exports of several materials with tech and military applications. Nvidia’s market value has ballooned this year on demand for chips that can run artificial intelligence programs, making it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies and China’s largest corporate target in the tech trade war so far.
China has opened a probe into Nvidia Corp over suspicions that the US chipmaker broke anti-monopoly laws around a 2020 deal, taking aim at the AI heavyweight as Washington ramps up sanctions.
The State Administration for Market Regulation opened an investigation into the company’s recent behaviour as well as the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, the government said in a statement on Monday. Beijing gave approval for the deal four years ago, on condition that Nvidia not discriminate against Chinese companies.
