Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm jointly protest Nvidia's acquisition of Arm

According to Jiwei.com, the Nvidia-Arm acquisition has triggered massive opposition. Technology companies including Alphabet's Google, Microsoft and Qualcomm are complaining to US antitrust regulators about Nvidia's acquisition of Arm. They all believe that the deal will harm competition in industry sectors that are critical to their business and call for intervention.

According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the process said at least one company wants to kill the deal. Technology companies believe that the acquisition will allow Nvidia to control an important supplier in the semiconductor industry chain, because Arm licenses the basic technology of chips to large companies such as Apple, Intel, Amazon, and Huawei, and also provides licenses to countless small and medium-sized enterprises.

UK-based Arm is seen as the "Switzerland of the global semiconductor industry" because it licenses chip designs and related software code to all customers rather than competing directly with semiconductor companies. The industry is concerned that once Nvidia, itself a chip design company, owns Arm, it may limit competitors' access to its technology or increase costs.

A British spokesman said Arm is an important part of the UK technology industry and has made significant contributions to the UK economy. Although the acquisition is mainly a commercial transaction for both parties, the government will closely monitor these transactions and will not hesitate to conduct further investigations and take appropriate actions when the acquisition may have a significant impact on the UK.