Catenaa, Friday, October 10, 2025- Chinese regulators said they would investigate the Qualcomm acquisition of chip firm Autotalks, after being suspected of violating the anti-monopoly law in China.
China’s State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) said that Qualcomm is suspected of violating the country’s anti-monopoly law in regards to its acquisition of Israeli firm Autotalks.
The acquisition officially closed in June, just over two years after it was first announced.
In a short statement, the SAMR said it would initiate an investigation into Qualcomm.
Qualcomm sells its smartphone chips to some of the biggest players in China, such as Xiaomi. Its shares fell over 1% in US trading on Friday morning.
US tech companies have recently been in the crosshairs of Chinese regulators, ramping up tensions between Beijing and Washington ahead of key talks.
In September, the SAMR alleged that Nvidia had violated the country’s anti-monopoly law in relation to its acquisition of Mellanox and some agreements made during the acquisition.
Meanwhile, Beijing has reportedly been discouraging local firms from buying Nvidia chips.
This week, China also tightened export controls on rare earths and related technologies. Rare earths are critical to high-tech industries, including automobiles, defense, and semiconductors.
US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to meet in person on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum during the last week of October in Gyeongju, South Korea.
