Former Lenovo chief engineer predicts China will reject NVIDIA-ARM deal

Just over two weeks ago, NVIDIA announced it will acquire ARM for $40 billion. The only caveat is that the deal still needs regulatory approval from various governments -- and that may be a massive hurdle for NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang's plan.

While speaking at a forum in Zhengzhou, former Lenovo chief engineer Ni Guangnan predicted that China's commerce ministry will shoot down the NVIDIA-ARM deal over concerns that the chip architecture will fall under US export controls. Guangnan also noted that if NVIDIA succeeds in buying ARM, it will likely be the end of ARM in China.

“I believe the Chinese commerce ministry will reject the acquisition,” said Ni Guangnan, 81, an academic under the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He was speaking at a forum in Zhengzhou, Henan province, the transcript of which was posted on Chinese news portal Sina.com.

Ni, a strong advocate of China’s self-sufficiency in key technologies, said China would not be “comfortable” using the Arm chip architecture if it were owned by a US company.