FTC probes Arm Holdings's chip licensing amid Seoul office investigation
Arm Holdings, the company behind the blueprints for smartphone chips, is now under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Regulators are checking whether Arm is trying to corner parts of the semiconductor market by limiting or tweaking licensing deals for its designs.
This is not just a US thing: South Korean authorities were investigating Arm's Seoul office in November after Qualcomm reportedly complained.
Arm told to preserve documents
Arm makes much of its money by licensing its chip designs to giants like Apple and NVIDIA, plus collecting royalties every time their tech gets used.
The company was told about the FTC probe this year and asked to preserve documents.
For young tech fans, it's a reminder that even companies powering your favorite gadgets aren't above global scrutiny.