For the average person, the impression that Softbank acquired ARM has left is only a huge figure of 32 billion U.S. dollars. However, this historic transaction in the scientific and technological community can be far less simple than you think.
As a company deeply immersed in chip design, ARM is the behind-the-scenes "leader" of the technology community, so for most people this name is a bit strange. However, to discuss the impact on people's daily life, the obscure ARM can be no worse than Apple, Samsung. Here we come together to analyze the reasons for the acquisition of ARM by Softbank.
ARM is one of the veterans of the computer industryAcorn RISC Machine was formerly British computer brand Acorn (which had an Apple stake), and Acorn Computers (Acorn Computers) was founded in 1978. The company is based in Cambridge, England. Its contribution to the early PC revolution in the 1980s was quite comparable. Apple Inc. in the United States.
In order to help Apple's personal assistant device "Newton" develop chips, Apple, British Acorn Computer Company and American chip manufacturer VLSI Technology co-founded ARM in 1990. Regrettably, however, "Newton" encountered Waterloo after its listing in 1993 and quickly disappeared from the market.
95% of mobile devices have ARM behind them
ARM is an intellectual property (IP) supplier. Its biggest difference from general semiconductor companies is that they do not manufacture chips and sell chips to end-users. Instead, they sell their design solutions to partners to produce distinctive chips. .
ARM used this win-win partnership to quickly become the creator of the global RISC microprocessor standard. This mode also brings huge benefits to the user, because users can only use a chip of the same ARM core from multiple companies by grasping only one ARM core structure and its development methods.
At present, a total of more than 100 companies have signed technology licensing agreements with ARM, including giants such as Apple, Samsung and Qualcomm.
In addition, ARM is still the practitioner of the "factory-free" concept. The company's 4,000 employees only focus on designing a blueprint for the chip and then licensing it to customers. The customer then asks the factory to produce or produce itself.
Internet of Things Super Hub
In fact, for ARM, the smart phone business can only be a drop in the ocean. The company's low-power architecture will become the overlord of the Internet of Things in the future. This means that in the future all aspects of your life will have the shadow of ARM. In the first quarter of this year, shipments of chips based on the ARM architecture have reached 4.1 billion, of which more than half are used in the Internet of Things.
In addition to designing architectures for IoT chip products, ARM has also developed an operating system called mbed for the Internet of Things. At the moment, the Internet of Things is just starting. In the next ten years, ARM's business will also grow geometrically. The president of Softbank, said: "ARM is one of the most important companies he acquired. It will help Softbank to grasp the golden opportunity created by the Internet of Things."
ARM is the pillar of British science and technology
After the news of Softbank’s acquisition of ARM, BBC anchor Rory Cellan-Jones said: “Tomorrow's Cambridge is full of sadness, and the British dream of training the world’s technology giants is shattered.â€
David Blacher of RSM, a business consultancy, said: “The fact that ARM is sold to Japanese will cause British pain from time to time. We may no longer be able to offer technology companies that can compete with Google and Apple.â€
However, the acquisition of ARM is not a dead end. With the support of Softbank, the future of ARM will usher in a better tomorrow. In the long run, this is a great advantage for the UK scientific and technological community.
ARM may move from behind the scenes to the stageAfter the acquisition of ARM by Softbank, it is very likely that it will take the opportunity to turn it into a brand new brand and conduct vigorous marketing around the brand. In the future, we may see Intel-like ARM Inside ads.
In addition, this acquisition will also accelerate the internationalization of ARM from a small, unknown company into a global company.
Although ARM almost dominates the chip architecture design of smartphones, the slowing global smartphone market is worrying ARM's investors. After releasing its latest quarterly financial report in February this year, ARM's share price fell. The emergence of Softbank became a timely rain, which made ARM, which was unable to expand new business, sprout new vitality.
As an operator, Softbank’s goal is to become a glue between various devices and services, and ARM is the best intermediary for them to achieve their goals. In the future, Softbank will increase its investment in ARM. The number of employees at its Cambridge headquarters will even double directly. If Sun Zhengyi can play every card in his hands, ARM can maintain its fine tradition and in the future they will jointly promote the intelligent development of mobile phones and IoT devices.