NVIDIA was recently investigated by the State Administration for Market Regulation for suspected violations of China's Anti-Monopoly Law. The investigation mainly focuses on whether NVIDIA abuses its dominant market position, bundles sales, and imposes unreasonable trading conditions on Chinese companies.

Main information:

Investigation background:

NVIDIA has a strong market dominance in the GPU and AI chip markets, especially in its product portfolio, such as the bundling of GPUs with network technology products from its Israeli subsidiary Mellanox.

Previously, when it acquired Mellanox in 2019, China had approved it with additional restrictive conditions, including not forcing the bundling of related products.

Possible penalties:

According to the Anti-Monopoly Law, if it is confirmed that it has excluded or restricted competition, it may face a fine of up to 10% of its revenue in China in the previous year.

Based on Nvidia's revenue of about $10.4 billion in China in 2023, the fine may be between $100 million and $1 billion; if the circumstances are particularly serious, the fine may reach 20% to 50% of revenue.

International impact:

Similar investigations are not only underway in China, but the European Union and the United States are also evaluating Nvidia's possible anti-competitive behavior, indicating that its global business strategy may have widespread problems.

Impact on the Chinese market:

The investigation may promote the further development of China's local chip industry and reduce dependence on foreign technology.

In recent years, China's chip industry has made certain progress in areas such as memory chips and core processors. This investigation may further strengthen its determination to conduct independent research and development.

Nvidia has not yet made a clear response to this, but said that its products support open competition and customer choice. Future investigation results may have an important impact on the global chip industry landscape.