The British government may prevent Nvidia from acquiring ARM

Last month, Nvidia launched the supercomputer Cambridge-1 in the UK. As a $100 million project, it will be committed to promoting the development of the medical industry. Researchers and scientists can use artificial intelligence to accelerate the biological revolution. This is currently the most powerful supercomputer in the UK. The first batch of projects includes an in-depth understanding of brain diseases such as dementia, using artificial intelligence to assist in the development of new drugs, and improving the accuracy of research on finding pathogenic variants in the human genome.

In April of this year, the British Minister of Digitalization, Culture, Media, and Sports, Oliver Dowden issued a public interest intervention notice on Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM “on the grounds of national security” and submitted it to the UK Competition and Market Authority.

But Nvidia’s efforts seem to have no effect. According to Bloomberg, the British government has investigated the transaction and evaluated the transaction at the end of July this year. In the report, it is pointed out that there are national security issues that may prevent the competent authority from approving the transaction. As the current investigation is still continuing and the information is still limited, this does not mean that it is the final decision. Nvidia is still working with regulators to resolve related issues.

In fact, the regulatory agencies of countries and regions including the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China have not approved the transaction so far. The resistance can be said to be considerable. If the final transaction fails, Nvidia will have to pay $1.25 billion in fees.