Nvidiais one of the biggest tech companies in the world, a powerhouse of computing innovation and creator of some of the most widely-used graphics cards on the market. The company has also taken interest in other areas, and last year,Nvidia acquired UK chip firm Arm for $40 billion, with the purpose of looking into artificial intelligence. However, the deal caught the attention of not only rival companies that use Arm, such as Samsung and Apple, but also the likes of the EU and UK government. And now the Federal Trade Commission has taken steps to stop the takeover all-together.
According to a press release on the FTC website, the antitrust and consumer protection agency has moved to sueNvidiain an attempt to block the acquisition of Arm. The rationale behind the block relates to the idea of one company essentially having control over one of the biggest chip manufacturers, one that many influential companies use in their products. It is felt by the FTC that having control over an essential company that many large customers depend on would give Nvidia power to “undermine its competitors” and risk hurting product quality from businesses that rely on Arm.
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It’s not just the FTC that has taken umbrage at the merger. At the start of the year,Microsoft and Google disputed Nvidia taking over Arm, who themselves called upon the Federal Trade Commission to put a stop to it. FTC Bureau of Competition Director Holly Vedova said that the deal would “distort” the incentive of Arm if the GPU tech giant was to have full control over it, and would “unfairly” weaken rival companies. The administrative trial is set to begin on June 22, 2025.
Even though the company is being sued by the FTC, Nvidia is still pushing forward with its many products. Most recently, it wasrumored that the RTX 3090 Ti was being prepped, which would be a slight boost on the RTX 3090 which came out last September. On top of that, Nvidia is seemingly looking to move forward into the next generation of GPUs, with speculations that its flagship 4000 series could be out as early as mid-2022.
Aside from all that, the tech shortages brought on by semiconductor supply issues is still plaguing the industry. WithIntel’s CEO believing the deficit could go on until 2023, the likes ofNvidia, as well as AMD and newcomers Intel, are still struggling to put their latest products in the hands of consumers.
