The UK government has tapped the Competition and Markets Authority to probe Nivdia’s A$54.7 billion takeover of Arm, with fears that it could led to decrease chip choice.
UK government has asked the Competition and Markets Authority to do an even deeper dive into Nvidia’s $40bn takeover of Arm after initial findings unearthed negative implications for chip design choice.
The competition watchdog says it is report it has received “detailed and reasoned submissions from customers and competitors raising concerns in numerous markets,” and expressed its own fears for the “ability and incentive to harm the competitiveness of Nvidia’s rivals by restricting access to Arm’s CPU IP, and impairing interoperability between related products, so as to benefit Nvidia’s downstream activities and increase its profits.”
The antitrust issues would be most felt in the data centre, IoT, automotive and gaming sectors, and could hamper national security.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Arm has a unique place in the global technology supply chain and we must make sure the implications of this transaction are fully considered. The CMA will now report to me on competition and national security grounds and provide advice on the next steps.”
The issue is foreign investment, as she notes, but adds “it is right that we fully consider the implications of this transaction.”
A spokesperson at Nvidia responded: “We plan on addressing the CMA’s initial views on the impact of the transaction on competition, and we will continue to work with the UK government to resolve its concerns.
The [next phase] process will enable us to demonstrate that the transaction will help to accelerate Arm and boost competition and innovation, including in the UK.”
