The British government orders a six-month investigation into Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM
As early as September 2020, we discovered for the first time that Nvidia was preparing to acquire British chip designer ARM for US$40 billion. In terms of chips, ARM is a considerable participant, licensing blueprints to various other companies such as Apple, Samsung, and Qualcomm. It is a very important company in the British technology industry.
At that time, Nvidia announced plans to expand ARM’s Cambridge headquarters into a new research and development base focused on artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence appears to be a driving part of Nvidia’s acquisition goals, and the company expects the transaction to be completed within 18 months.
This seems unlikely because the UK has just launched a six-month investigation into Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM. Reuters reported that because of ARM’s position in the industry, the UK is launching an investigation on the grounds that national security and the wider supply chain are potential problems.
The UK is not the first government to investigate this transaction. The European Commission started a formal investigation earlier this year and is also worried about ARM’s prominent position in the industry.
Since ARM’s chips are used by many companies, including Nvidia’s competitors, this is a real problem for many people. Therefore, it is not surprising that government agencies continue to participate.
Although Nvidia has promised to maintain ARM’s neutrality, its stock price has risen since the transaction. It also shows some very concise ray tracing and DLSS using ARM-based chips, so we may just have to wait and see.
If you want to learn more about ARM, its relationship with Nvidia so far, and the significance of this acquisition, we have plenty of articles for you to read.