Arm to make AI chips and target multibillion dollar market

The riches, if the plan works out, are immense. Nikkei Asia reports that the market being targeted is estimated at $30 billion this year, $100bn+ in 2029 and more than $200bn in 2032. The medium quotes Precedence Research of Canada for the figures.

Arm ecosystem partner NVIDIA is said to “lead the field but cannot keep up with growing demand. SoftBank sees an opportunity.”

Nikkei Asia reports that SoftBank, which retains more than 90 per cent of Arm shares following last year’s NASDAQ IPO, could invest as much as $64bn in data centres infrastructure and robotics to support the deal, although Arm would carry initial development costs, which could run into many millions of dollars.

The medium says that mass production will be handled by contract manufacturers, adding that Arm already supplies architecture to NVIDIA and other chip developers.

Nikkei Asia reports that once a mass-production system is established, an AI chip business could be “spun off and placed under SoftBank.”

A the time of going to Press, Arm had not made any comment on the news from Japan where SoftBank is based.

SoftBank paid $32bn to buy Arm in 2016. Arm floated on NASDAQ last September and its performance since has been little short of sensational.

CEO Rene Haas, revealing Arm’s latest results last week, said the company had finished the financial year achieving more than $3bn in revenue for the first time. He added that AI was “driving increased demand for Arm-based technology across all end-markets.”