China Probes Nvidia's Mellanox Acquisition
China's market regulator is investigating Nvidia's 2019 acquisition of Mellanox, an Israeli high-performance chip company. The acquisition, originally valued at $7 billion, was previously approved by the Chinese government contingent on Nvidia adhering to specific commitments, such as sharing product information with competitors and allowing Chinese chipmakers to test their products with Mellanox technology. This investigation unfolds amidst escalating trade tensions between the US and China, particularly concerning advanced AI chips. Nvidia, currently the world's second-largest public company by market capitalization, faces scrutiny due to its crucial role in the AI sector. The US has imposed restrictions on selling advanced AI chips to Chinese companies, prompting retaliatory actions from China, including this recent probe. This investigation adds another layer to the ongoing economic and technological conflict between the two nations. For more information on related topics, see OpenAI's Sora Excludes EU and UK at Launch.