The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched an antitrust investigation into Arm Holdings, the British semiconductor design company, according to a Bloomberg News report published Friday. The federal agency is examining whether the firm is attempting to create an illegal monopoly within segments of the chip industry.
Federal investigators are specifically reviewing whether Arm might refuse to honor or diminish licensing deals for its semiconductor blueprints that companies use to create central processing units, Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the investigation.
The FTC informed Arm about the probe earlier this year and required the company to retain relevant documentation, the report stated.
Arm generates a substantial portion of its income by licensing its chip design technology to major corporations including Nvidia and Apple, then collecting royalty fees when those designs are implemented.
Neither Arm Holdings nor the Federal Trade Commission provided immediate responses to requests for comment from Reuters, which was unable to independently confirm the Bloomberg report.
International regulators are also examining Arm’s business operations.
South Korea’s competition authority conducted an investigation at Arm’s Seoul offices in November as part of continued oversight of the company’s licensing methods.
