China’s top market regulator says Nvidia violated the country’s antitrust laws, escalating tensions with the U.S. over critical AI chip technology. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced Monday that Nvidia broke promises related to fair competition.
It vowed to continue its investigation into the chip giant.
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The announcement comes as officials from Washington and Beijing meet in Spain in an effort to deescalate ongoing trade disputes.
Nvidia, whose processors are critical to the development of artificial intelligence, has not yet commented on the allegations. Its stock fell more than 2% in premarket trading on Monday.
Probe dates back to 2024
The findings come from a probe that China launched last December. However, SAMR did not specify which antitrust laws were violated. The regulator claims Nvidia failed to uphold commitments made during its 2020 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, an Israeli company that makes computer networking hardware.
At the time, Nvidia promised to prevent monopolistic behavior and ensure access to Mellanox’s technology within China — commitments China now says the company broke.
Part of a broader tech cold war
The announcement comes as the United States and China are fighting to gain the upper hand in the AI race.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration added 23 companies to its export blacklist over national security concerns. In response, Beijing pledged to investigate U.S. chipmakers, including Nvidia, for similar reasons.
Chip regulators have also reportedly asked Nvidia to explain the potential national security risks posed by certain chips, alleging they could track user locations or be remotely disabled.
Trump gave Nvidia the green light
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with President Trump last month and successfully pushed for permission to continue selling AI chips to China. It’s a decision that drew criticism from lawmakers, who argue such sales could give Beijing a strategic advantage over the U.S. in the race for AI dominance.
AI arms race heating up
Both the U.S. and China see AI dominance as a national security imperative. Nvidia sits at the center of that race, with its chips powering cutting-edge applications across defense, biotech and finance.
