China says Qualcomm admits failing to report Autotalks acquisition, antitrust probe threat looms over chipmaker

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Sunday, 12 October 2025, that the US-based chipmaking giant Qualcomm had admitted to not informing the Chinese authorities when it completed its acquisition of the Israel-based connected-vehicle technology provider Autotalks, according to a Reuters report.

When a large global semiconductor company merges or acquires another company, the Chinese market regulator must approve the transaction. This judicial power is granted to China's SAMR for companies that do significant business in China.

Qualcomm supplies its chips to many Chinese smartphone makers, including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus, among others.

According to the agency report, the SAMR was not informed of the Autotalks acquisition in June 2025, despite the regulator's order that the deal required approval. The company also allegedly notified the Chinese market regulator that it would not pursue the deal further.

Qualcomm “acknowledged above facts,” based on which China launched its antitrust probe against the chipmaker. The US-based company did not respond to the queries sent by the news agency.

China's antitrust probe against Qualcomm

China's State Administration for Market Regulation initiated an antitrust investigation against Qualcomm on Friday, 10 October 2025, to examine the acquisition of connected-vehicle technology provider Autotalks, which was completed in June 2025.

According to an agency report by Bloomberg, the market regulator also said that it will investigate any potential violations of the country's anti-monopoly law in relation to the transaction.

This comes ahead of US President Donald Trump's talks with China's Xi Jinping as they try to potentially negotiate a trade deal ahead of the US-China trade deadline.

Apart from Qualcomm, China is also reportedly investigating Nvidia's acquisition of networking gear maker Mellanox. This came before the investigations started on Qualcomm, as officials from both nations discussed wide-ranging negotiations in Madrid one month ago.

Qualcomm shares closed 7.29% lower at $153.59 after Friday's Wall Street session, compared to $141.52 at the previous stock market close, according to Marketwatch data. The shares of the chipmaking giant closed 0.53% higher at $154.40 during the after-hours session on Nasdaq.

Qualcomm stock hit its 52-week high level at $182.10, while the 52-week low level was at $120.80, as per the market data. The company's market capitalisation (M-Cap) stands at $165.72 billion.