Qualcomm Wants to Buy a Stake in Arm Alongside its Rivals
Freeman writes:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/05/qualcomm-wants-to-buy-a-stake-in-arm-alongside-its-rivals/
The US chipmaker Qualcomm wants to buy a stake in Arm alongside its rivals and create a consortium that would maintain the UK chip designer's neutrality in the highly competitive semiconductor market.
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank plans to list Arm on the New York Stock Exchange after Nvidia's $66 billion purchase collapsed earlier this year. However, the IPO has sparked concern over the future ownership of the company, given its crucial role in the global technology sector.
[...] Some UK politicians have called for the government to buy a "golden share" in Arm that would recognize the company's place as a crucial strategic asset for the nation.
But despite intense British lobbying, SoftBank is thought to be pushing ahead with a US listing, leading to questions over the future control of a company that has long been considered an impartial actor in the $500 billion global semiconductor industry. Arm strikes licensing deals with partners regardless of size or geography, which has led to its intellectual property being used in the majority of chips sold worldwide.
[...] With demand for semiconductors set to double over the next 10 years and as the world struggles to recover from a multiyear chip crunch, manufacturers of the technology found in all modern electronics will rely on Arm's designs more than ever.
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