EU antitrust opens investigation into Nvidia's purchase of Arm

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October 28, 2021 The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to evaluate

Nvidia's

of Arm. EU regulators want to understand more about the offer from graphics chip makers Nvidia to acquire

chip designer Arm

for

.

The EU's concern is that the merged entity would have the ability and interest to limit Nvidia's competitors' access to Arm's technology and that the proposed transaction could lead to

, less choice. and a reduction

in

innovation

in the semiconductor industry.

Nvidia, an American group, develops and delivers

for various applications, including data centers, the Internet of Things, applications for the automotive industry and video games, while Arm, a British group, grants

for processing units, in particular to semiconductor chip makers and systems developers -on-Chip. With the acquisition of Arm, Nvidia would gain full control of Arm's technology and licensing business.

The vice president of the Commission and head of the EU Antitrust,

, he specified that "semiconductors are everywhere in the products and devices we use every day, as well as in infrastructures such as data centers. While Arm and Nvidia are not in direct competition, Arm's intellectual property (IP) is an important input. in products competing with those of Nvidia, for example in

in the

sector

and in the

". 

"Our analysis shows that Nvidia's acquisition of Arm could lead to

to Arm's IP, with distorting effects in many markets where semiconductors are used.

Our investigation aims to ensure that companies active in Europe continue to have effective access to the technology needed to produce cutting-edge semiconductors at competitive prices ", assures Vestager.