Chips are down as Nvidia s $40bn Arm takeover faces gauntlet of investigations
Regulators around the world are lining up to scrutinise one of the tech industry s biggest ever deals
1 March 2021 • 8:07am
Few companies have as many things going simultaneously in their favour today as the Silicon Valley processor maker Nvidia.
The company’s graphics chips are in furious demand as locked down households turn to video games in record numbers. The cryptocurrency boom has revived demand for high-powered mining rigs that use Nvidia’s technology. Skyrocketing internet use has led to huge investments in data centres, where its AI chips are increasingly becoming a fixture. And forthcoming technologies like driverless cars and delivery robots are also set to rely on its processors.
Computer chips are the brains and souls of all the electronics the country’s factories crank out. Yet they are mostly designed and produced overseas. China’s government is lavishing money on anyone who can help change that.
With Money, and Waste, China Fights for Chip Independence
Beijing’s drive to free itself from reliance on imported semiconductors has lifted start-ups and big firms alike. Some have flamed out. But there has been progress.
A production line at Tsinghon, a start-up making high-end films and adhesives for chip products. The company has grown to 36 employees.Credit.Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times
Liu Fengfeng had more than a decade under his belt at one of the world’s most prominent technology companies before he realized where the real gold rush in China was taking place.
Computer chips are the brains and souls of all the electronics the country’s factories crank out. Yet they are mostly designed and produced overseas. China’s government is lavishing money upon anyone who can help change that.