United States joins list of countries investigating Nvidia's ARM acquisition

There’s even more bad news for Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM. Yet another agency has concerns over Nvidia having total control over the UK chip company which provides blueprints to heaps of tech companies including Apple and Samsung. Just days after the UK launched a six month inquiry into the deal, the United States Federal Trade Commission has decided to also step in to scrutinise the move. 

During Nvidia’s fiscal third-quarter earnings conference call, CFO Colette Kress revealed the FTC’s interest in the acquisition (via Protocol). No further details were provided about the FTC’s investigation, but given the UK’s investigation, and the European Commission extending their already ongoing look into the matter, it doesn’t bode well.

When Nvidia first announced the $40 billion acquisition of ARM back in September 2020, the company predicted it would be all wrapped up within two years. As even more concerned parties continue to jump on the investigation bandwagon, this seems a loftier and loftier goal.

It makes sense that there’s concern around the Nvidia ARM acquisition. So many companies rely on and use ARM designs, so having one manufacturer technically in control could make for an incredibly unfair shift in the market, or lead to potential gaps in security. Nvidia has pledged to keep ARM’s neutrality, with the following statement.

“As part of Nvidia, Arm will continue to operate its open-licensing model, while maintaining the global customer neutrality that has been foundational to its success, with 180 billion chips shipped to-date by its licensees. Arm partners will also benefit from both companies’ offerings, including Nvidia’s numerous innovations.” 

Despite this, given both the potential business and national security concerns, you can see why so many are looking into it. 

ARM has a pretty storied history as one of the most important UK based tech companies, and the acquisition could be huge for Nvidia. You can find out more about the deal and what it means for tech, gaming, and the companies involved in our explainer.