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Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook Summit in New York City on Nov. 29, 2023.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan cited the surging stock prices of Nvidia and Arm as an example of how blocking mergers can lead to increased innovation.

Speaking at a Bloomberg and Y Combinator conference on Tuesday, Khan said that when the $40 billion merger was called off due to “significant regulatory challenges” in 2022, it forced both companies to innovate and create new products.

The remarks suggest Khan and the FTC see the blocked Nvidia deal, which Khan said would have been “the largest semiconductor chip merger in history,” as an example of a successful antitrust action that doesn’t hamper companies from pursuing financial success or embracing new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

“The trajectories of both companies in the wake of this action has illustrated how organic growth and competition can spur firms to further innovate in ways that benefit the business and public alike,” Khan said at the conference.

The evidence, Khan said, is in the company stock prices.

“Not only has Nvidia remained the leading AI chipmaker in the AI chip arms race, with a surging stock valuation, but Arm ended up going public and has a forward earnings multiple that is more than double Nvidia’s,” Khan said.

In September 2020, Nvidia announced plans to acquire Arm for $40 billion in cash and stock. Both firms hailed the deal as a way to create the premier computing company for the “age of AI.

But the acquisition quickly met resistance from regulators in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Arm’s core technology, its instruction set architecture, is used by companies such as Apple, Google and Qualcomm to build processors. Arm is often described as a “neutral supplier” that doesn’t compete with its customers.

Those companies and regulators worried that Nvidia could control access to Arm’s architecture, giving it the power to foreclose access to a key input needed to make their chips. Nvidia said it would invest in Arm and allow other companies continued use of Arm’s chip designs, preserving the company’s licensing model.

The FTC sued in late 2021 to block the merger, and in combination with pressure with other regulatory challenges, the deal collapsed less than three months later.

“Our team determined that giving one of the largest chip companies control over the computing technology and designs that rival firms rely on to develop their own competing chips would be bad for competition and hamstring innovation of next-generation technology,” Khan said Tuesday.

Nvidia shares have rocketed since the deal was called off as the company has established a leading position in AI chips. Nvidia’s value has nearly tripled mostly on the strength of sales of its AI chips for servers such as the A100 and H100. It’s now worth just under $2 trillion, the third-most valuable U.S. company.

Arm stock has more than doubled since the company went public in August 2023, although SoftBank still owns 90% of the company’s shares. Investors have bid up its share price in the hope that its technology will be essential for developing and deploying AI software.

Arm is now worth more than $143 billion, and, as Khan noted, investors have given the company a high earnings multiple, suggesting that they see strong growth in the company’s future.

Representatives for Nvidia and Arm declined to comment.

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Armis raises $435 million, valuing cybersecurity startup at $6.1 billion

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Armis raises 5 million, valuing cybersecurity startup at .1 billion

Armis CEO Yevgeny Dibrov and CTO Nadir Izrael.

Courtesy: Armis

Cybersecurity startup Armis has raised $435 million in a funding round that values the company at $6.1 billion.

“The need for what Armis is doing and what we are building, in this cyber exposure management and security platform, is just increasing,” CEO and co-founder Yevgeny Dibrov told CNBC. There’s “very unique and huge demand right now, and we are continuing to grow.”

Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ growth equity fund anchored the investment, with participation from CapitalG, a venture arm of Alphabet. The security firm brought on Evolution Equity Partners as a new investor.

Armis helps businesses secure and manage internet-connected devices and protect them against cyber threats. The company chose Goldman’s growth fund due to its strong track record helping companies accelerate growth toward initial public offerings, Dibrov said.

“This is the partner for us to go to the next stage and continue to build here a real generational business to get to the Hall of Fame of cyber and SaaS businesses,” he said.

In September, Bloomberg reported that the company was exploring as much as seven stake offers. Dibrov told CNBC the funding round was an outcome of those talks.

Founded in 2016, Armis in August said it surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenues. The California-based company achieved that milestone less than a year after topping $200 million in ARR.

Armis raised $200 million in an October 2024 funding round with General Catalyst and Alkeon Capital. Previous backers have included Sequioa Capital and Bain Capital Ventures. Armis also raised $100 million in a secondary offering in July.

Dibrov said Armis is aiming for an IPO at the end of 2026 or early 2027, but he said he’s in no rush and is waiting on “market conditions.” The company’s primary goal is to hit $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, he said.

“Going public will be before that,” he said.

WATCH: Tech meets policy: Cybersecurity collaboration necessary in the era AI, says Google engineer

Tech meets policy: Cybersecurity collaboration necessary in the era AI, says Google engineer

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TASER maker Axon plunges 17% after earnings fall short due to tariff hit

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 TASER maker Axon plunges 17% after earnings fall short due to tariff hit

Rick Smith, CEO of Axon Enterprises.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Axon Enterprise‘s stock plummeted 17% after the TASER maker missed Wall Street’s third-quarter profit expectations as it grapples with tariff constraints.

Adjusted earnings totaled $1.17 per share adj., falling short of a $1.52 per share forecast from LSEG. Adjusted gross margins fell 50 basis points from a year ago to 62.7%, which Axon attributed to tariff impacts.

Axon’s connected devices business, which includes its TASER and counter drone equipment, felt the biggest pinch during the first full quarter with tariffs. The business segment accounted for over $405 million in revenues, increasing 24% year over year.

“As long as tariffs stay in place, I view that as sort of a one-time adjustment,” finance chief Brittany Bagley said during the earnings call. “Now that’s baked into the gross margins.”

Bagley expects growth in the company’s software business to eventually offset margin losses long-term. Software and services revenues jumped 41% from a year ago to $305 million.

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Total revenues grew 31% from a year ago to $711 million, topping the $704 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG. The U.S. accounted for 84% of sales.

The Arizona-based company reported a net loss of $2.2 million, a loss of 3 cents per share, versus net income of $67 million, or 86 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Axon lifted its full-year revenue outlook to $2.74 billion, from between $2.65 billion and $2.73 billion. FactSet analysts expected $2.72 billion at the midpoint.

The company expects revenues between $750 million and $755 million during the fourth quarter, which was above LSEG analyst expectations of $746 million.

Along with the results, Axon said it is acquiring Carbyne in a deal that values the emergency communications platform at $625 million. The deal is expected to close next year in the first quarter.

Axon shares have jumped more than 60% over the last year and are up 18% year to date as demand for its security tools accelerates.

“We are building an elite business that is still nowhere near its ultimate potential, and we are doing it with a team that is rapidly bought into the mission,” said Axon’s president Josh Isner on the earnings call.

We're in amazing position to take advantage of the AI era, says Axon CEO Rick Smith

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Fintech Ripple gets $40 billion valuation after $500 million funding

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Fintech Ripple gets  billion valuation after 0 million funding

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 4, 2022. 

Mike Blake | Reuters

Digital assets and infrastructure company Ripple said Wednesday it has raised $500 million in funding, lifting its valuation to $40 billion.

The fundraise comes after a slew of acquisitions and as the company expands its product base beyond just payments.

Crypto and digital asset companies are trying to take advantage of what is seen by the industry as a more favorable environment in the U.S. after the election of President Donald Trump and the passing of a landmark stablecoin law known as the GENIUS Act.

Ripple, which is closely linked to the XRP cryptocurrency, said the funding round was led by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, affiliates of Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace.

‘Record year of growth’

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