Monday, December 9th 2024
NVIDIA Under Antitrust Investigation in China Amid Escalating Chip Tensions
Today China announced an investigation into NVIDIA for possible violations of antitrust laws. This is apparently in retaliation for the recent U.S. embargo on semiconductor exports, Reuters reported. China's State Administration for Market Regulatory Affairs (SAMR) did not provide specific details about the antitrust violations however it said they may allegedly be linked to NVIDIA's acquisition of Mellanox Technologies in 2020. NVIDIA once dominated China's AI market with over 90% of the market share, however, it now generates just 17% of its revenue from the region, down from 26% two years ago. The decline in income is a direct result of U.S. export controls as NVIDIA was forced to develop Chinese-specific chip versions.
The investigation on NVIDIA mirrors China's 2013 antitrust probe against Qualcomm's local subsidiary for overcharging and abusing market position in wireless communication standards. The investigation resulted in a $975 million fine which Qualcomm agreed to pay. Recently, the United States announced additional export restrictions adding 140 Chinese companies from the semiconductor industry including chip equipment manufacturers. Shortly after, China announced a ban on exports of key minerals (gallium, germanium, and antimony) while Chinese industry associations urged domestic companies to avoid U.S.-made chips.
Source:
Reuters
The investigation on NVIDIA mirrors China's 2013 antitrust probe against Qualcomm's local subsidiary for overcharging and abusing market position in wireless communication standards. The investigation resulted in a $975 million fine which Qualcomm agreed to pay. Recently, the United States announced additional export restrictions adding 140 Chinese companies from the semiconductor industry including chip equipment manufacturers. Shortly after, China announced a ban on exports of key minerals (gallium, germanium, and antimony) while Chinese industry associations urged domestic companies to avoid U.S.-made chips.
20 Comments on NVIDIA Under Antitrust Investigation in China Amid Escalating Chip Tensions
Regarding the Chinese government suing for anti-trust...it's a bad joke. If today Nvidia sold no cards to China ever again they'd be losing virtually nothing. This is the inevitable retaliation against a Trump administration that seeks to stifle their threat to Western dominance, because you cannot simply create a materials science process by reverse engineering a part. This is why things like ceramic jet engine blades, microchips, and vapor deposition coatings are a Western thing...while the Chinese versions are all bout 20 years behind because they're copying things without actually knowing what makes them special in processing.
This, of course, is happening in the midst of dumping EVs onto the market. A decision that was made because China got so good at making the slightly worse lithium-iron-phosphate batteries and because none of the tech was unique they could absolutely pump out a dozen "new" car companies a year...until they oversaturated the market with crap. Whether you like it or not, China is unlikely to ever respect Western rules, unless they benefit them. Part of that is them using the legal system just as punitively as the West, to lash out when their machinations are stopped. Unfortunately it was after the West helped build the Great Firewall...so it's not like they're angels either.
China aren't supposed to be getting Nvidia tech anyway - Nvidia developing products to workaround the embargos is a violation of the spirit of the law, via loopholes and weasel-wording. China complaining about it is even worse - it's like publicly complaining that the dodgy, under-the-table deal you made to skirt the government intent wasn't ideal. IDK, maybe "shut the f*ck up and don't draw attention to your continued purchase of Nvidia tech for AI" is what I'd be doing in China's situation, maybe?
You know there’s a compute power formula in export controls, right? No, it’s called following the law.
Your favorite company did the same thing. Except they fucked it up.
I will say there is no political reason behind it.
Could be just another blackmail attempt to grab some money.
Just happens it is Nvidia this time.
AI and crypto growth isn't the growth you should want.
The GPU market is not a healthy market.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all. My gut feeling is that Jenson Huang may get into major trouble for selling 5090s to China, which can possibly be unlocked to their full potential. The spotlight is also on Nvidia for taxes not properly paid in full to the tune of 6-8 billion dollars.
The green team has money for centuries and everyone wants a piece. They also need to do the right thing for their customers.