Nvidia wants to own a piece of your smartphone, but hits another speed bump
One problem after the next
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Nvidiahas been working on the $54 billion bid for UK-based chip designerArmsince 2020, with plenty of snags along the way. But now the tech company is facing its biggest obstacle yet as the European Commission has gotten involved with the merger.
The European Commission has stated that they will fully investigate the acquisition and determine whether it will result in a monopoly that would harm other industries and companies such as Qualcomm,Apple, andSamsung.
Nvidia has made “insufficient concessions” during its preliminary review from the antitrust regulator, according to the report fromReuters. And while it has not been revealed what those concessions were, Nvidia did state that Arm would remain a neutral technology supplier and would not rock the marketplace boat.
The European Commission will reportedly make its decision by March 15, 2022.
Analysis: Objections so far
Nvidia’s attempt to acquire Arm from the SoftBank Grouphas been facing scrutinyfrom the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as well as tech giants such asGoogle and Microsoft, and US chipmakerQualcomm.
All three have even voiced concerns to regulatory bodies such as the US Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission, the CMA, and China’s State Administration for Market Regulation. There’s also the fact that Qualcomm previously announcedit would investin Arm if the deal with Nvidia falls through, giving it even more incentive to intervene.
Though each company has its own stakes at risk if the merger goes through, they all share the same concerns that it would befar harder to licenseArm’s intellectual property afterward, as the company’s chip designs are currently used in 95%of the world’s smartphones.
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There are also concerns that, unlike Softbank, which expanded UK jobs when it purchased Arm, Nvidia could possiblyoutsource jobs or operationsabroad.
ViaWindows Central
Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.
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