Nvidia’s value tumbled more than €96bn after Chinese regulators launched a probe into the tech business, writes Calum Muirhead.

The computer chip giant’s stock dropped 3pc on Wall Street after China’s state media reported the country’s competition watchdog has opened an investigation into whether Nvidia broke anti-monopoly laws.

The regulator is also reviewing whether the company violated commitments it made as part of a $7bn takeover of Israeli-American computer firm Mellanox, which authorities had approved in 2020 on the condition Nvidia did not discriminate against Chinese firms.

The probe will cause a potential headache for Nvidia, which counts on China for around 15pc of its sales.

The move has sparked speculation that the company is the latest to be caught in the middle of a growing trade war between the US and China over cutting-edge computer chips.

Nvidia’s tech is crucial in powering artificial intelligence (AI) processors.

Its share price has surged over the past year and made it one of the world’s largest companies with a value of nearly €3.2trillion.

However, US officials have implemented strict export controls which have only allowed it to sell watered-down versions of its processors in the Chinese market.

The probe also comes a week after the US unveiled even harsher measures to stop high-end computer chips being sold in China.