SAMR finds Nvidia violated antitrust commitments in Mellanox deal

China's market regulator said on Monday that a preliminary investigation found U.S. chipmaker Nvidia had violated the country's antimonopoly law, announcing it will continue probing suspected breaches tied to the company's acquisition of Israeli interconnect maker Mellanox. The State Administration for Market Regulation said the investigation, which began in December, identified violations but provided no immediate details on the nature of the infractions.

The regulator said Nvidia was suspected of violating commitments it made when Chinese authorities conditionally approved Nvidia's roughly $6.9 billion purchase of Mellanox in April 2020. At the time, the approval required Nvidia to continue supplying graphics processing unit accelerators, Mellanox high speed network interconnect equipment, and related software and accessories to the Chinese market on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. The SAMR's brief statement did not specify which commitments were believed to have been breached or describe the evidence supporting its finding.

Under China’s antitrust law, companies found in violation can face fines equal to between 1 and 10 percent of their previous year’s sales,...