Nvidia Likely Pulling Out of Arm Acquisition After Failing to Win Regulatory Approval

Nvidia is no longer planning to acquire chip maker Arm after failing to win approval for the venture, reports Bloomberg. Nvidia will "quietly" abandon the purchase because it has made no progress in gaining support from regulators and is facing an FTC lawsuit blocking the deal.

arm logo blue bg
Nvidia in September 2020 announced plans to purchase Arm from SoftBank for $40 billion, but it was clear from the beginning that the purchase would be subject to regulatory scrutiny as Nvidia is a customer of Arm and Arm has many licensing deals with Nvidia competitors.

In December 2021, the United States Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to prevent Nvidia from acquiring Arm as the purchase would give Nvidia control over computing technology and designs that rival firms rely on to develop competing chips. The FTC said that allowing the acquisition to move forward would stifle "innovative next-generation technologies" and would "unfairly undermine" Nvidia's competitors.

Chipmaker Qualcomm was one of the Nvidia competitors that objected to the purchase, and in February 2021, the San Diego-based company told the FTC, the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and China's State Administration for Market Regulation that the acquisition would allow Nvidia to become the gatekeeper for Arm's technology, preventing other chipmakers from using it.

With the deal looking unlikely to be approved, Nvidia is now telling partners that it does not expect the transaction to close. SoftBank is preparing for an initial public offering in case the Nvidia takeover does not happen, but Bloomberg says that both companies are continuing to speak with regulators at this time in the hopes that something might change.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Available Next Month With These 8 New Features

Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
homepod mini thumb feature

New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and AirTag Were Expected This Year — Where Are They?

Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen. Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...

Top Rated Comments

thedocbwarren Avatar
50 months ago
This is a good move honestly. End of the day ARM will be used widely and will continue to sustain independently.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaRev Avatar
50 months ago

Queue homers saying Apple should buy them.

Because you know, Apple is entitled to everything.
Why would Apple need to buy them, they already bought an Architecture License allowing them access to all future upgrades.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
50 months ago
Good.
We need a lot less consolidation, not more
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPOM Avatar
50 months ago
Not surprising. Too many regulators had anti-trust concerns. To even think of getting approval they would have had to make so many concessions I doubt the numbers would have made sense.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zdigital2015 Avatar
50 months ago

Queue homers saying Apple should buy them.

Because you know, Apple is entitled to everything.
Apple would likely face the exact same type of regulatory scrutiny that NVIDIA is facing, which makes this a non-starter for them. It’s in everyone’s best interest that Arm stay independent of any chipmakers or very large tech companies (Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon), but I wonder if they have the business acumen to keep their model sustainable in the current environment. What might be viable, although a political nightmare, would be for the parties most interested in Arm’s success forming a consortium that then in turn purchases Arm. This could work.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
50 months ago

Why would Apple need to buy them, they already bought an Architecture License allowing them access to all future upgrades.
You’re applying logical thinking..

The implication here is that the Apple homers often do not
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)