Nvidia breaks anti-trust law after initial probe: China alleges

Nvidia chips again became part of the table talk, as tensions between China and U.S. appears to be on the rise on the technology front.

According to Reuters, Chinese market regulators found Nvidia violated Anti-monopoly law in preliminary investigation.

China opened two separate probes into semiconductors on September 14, 2025. One indicates an anti-dumping investigation into certain chips imported from the U.S., while the other is an anti-discrimination scrutiny of U.S. restrictions on China's chip industry.

Moreover, Nvidia already has had a tumultuous relationship with the Chinese market recently as the company has been caught up in geopolitical volatility.

Previously, Nvidia’s H20 product, a chip that had been specially designed to comply with U.S. export restrictions, was blocked from being sent to China.

The last month reports, China's cyberspace regulator summoned Nvidia representatives to explain whether the H20 chip, which Nvidia tailored for China, posed backdoor security risks that could affect Chinese user data and privacy.

Furthermore, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced that following a preliminary investigation, Nvidia was found to be in breach of those rules, with relation to its acquisition of Mellanox Technology Co., Ltd. with Restrictive Conditions.

However, the brief statement from the State Administration for Market Regulation SAMR did not elaborate on how the U.S. company, known for its artificial intelligence and gaming chips, might have violated China's anti-monopoly laws.

China's decision to continue the investigation which was launched last year in December 2024, comes as the United States and China are holding fourth round of trade talks in Madrid.

Anti-trust violations can carry hefty fines:Nvidia shares are already dropping:

As per the recent reports, Nvidia shares has been gone down in stock market after China’s top regulatory authority said the U.S. chipmaker has violated the country’s antitrust rules.

According to China’s antitrust law, companies can face fines of between 1% and 10% of their annual sales from the previous year. China generated $17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending January 26, or 13% of total sales, based on its latest annual report.