Nvidia sees value drop by £80bn as Chinese regulators say it broke anti-monopoly laws

Nvidia’s value plummeted by more than £80 billion after Chinese regulators launched an investigation into the technology sector.

Shares of the computer chip giant fell 3 percent on Wall Street after Chinese state media reported that the country’s competition watchdog has opened an investigation into whether Nvidia violated anti-monopoly laws.

The regulator is also investigating whether the company breached commitments it made as part of a £5.4 billion takeover of Israeli-American computer company Mellanox, which authorities approved in 2020 on the condition that Nvidia would not discriminate against Chinese companies .

The investigation will cause potential headaches for Nvidia, which relies on China for about 15 percent of its sales.

Slump: Nvidia fell 3% on Wall Street after Chinese state media reported that the country’s competition watchdog has opened an investigation into whether it violated anti-monopoly laws

The move has led to speculation that the company is the latest to find itself in the middle of a growing trade war between the US and China over cutting-edge computer chips.

Nvidia’s technology is crucial for powering artificial intelligence (AI) processors. Its share price has soared in the past year, making it one of the largest companies in the world with a value of almost £2.7 trillion.

However, US officials imposed strict export controls, allowing the company to sell only watered-down versions of its processors in the Chinese market.

The investigation also comes a week after the US announced even stricter measures to prevent high-end computer chips from being sold in China.

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