ARM wrestling Qualcomm

In a move that has sent shockwaves through the semiconductor industry, ARM Holding has announced the cancellation of Qualcomm’s architectural licensing agreement, effectively ending Qualcomm’s ability to use ARM’s intellectual property to design its custom Oryon cores . While much has been said about this move putting Qualcomm’s future products at risk, it’s not just Qualcomm that stands to lose. There is a much bigger impact when you stare ARM in the face.

At the heart of this corporate schism lies a series of alleged violations of the licensing agreement by Qualcomm. ARM claims that Qualcomm’s shift to offering more complete chip designs infringes on Arm’s own business model, which has traditionally revolved around licensing IP rather than competing directly with its own consumers. This feud reached a boiling point when Qualcomm began using its architectural license to develop the Oryon cores, a move that Arm viewed as a direct threat to its core business.

The fact is that the acquisition of Nuvia by ARM allowed Qualcomm to further develop its own design, which now forms the core of the new Oryon cores. And Nuvia had its own set of licenses from ARM. Moreover, this is not the first lawsuit against Qualcomm by ARM. There was another in 2022 when Arm suspected Qualcomm was building its own custom designs. The main concern here is that by letting Qualcomm design custom cores using ARM’s instruction sets, ARM fears losing control of the standardization and uniformity that have been crucial to its success in the mobile and embedded markets. The revocation serves as both a punitive and protective measure, with the aim of safeguarding ARM’s interests while sending a message to other licensees considering similar paths.

So who has to lose and who has to gain? If you look at the smartphone SoC space, MediaTek occupies a 40 percent market share in terms of units sold, followed by Qualcomm, which has a 25 percent market share. So it stands to reason that MediaTek could benefit greatly if ARM favors it more than Qualcomm when it comes to newer Core designs and instruction sets. That said, there won’t be any turbulence in the near term because tech companies are working on products years in advance. So several generations of mobile SoCs for smartphones and laptops are already planned. Intel and AMD can breathe a sigh of relief as they have certainly felt the heat.

ARM needs to get Qualcomm to the table, because if they don’t, the hundreds of other companies that rely on ARM designs may soon harbor similar dreams of building their own cores. If this problem is not properly resolved, these companies may also explore other architectures, such as RISC-V, as a more secure and flexible alternative.

Also read: The business growth of the ARM processors

As long as the supply chain for the existing chips is not affected, Qualcomm’s customers have nothing to worry about. There are countless smartphone makers and automakers that rely on a healthy supply of Qualcomm’s SoCs to ensure their production lines stay on schedule.

Arm’s decision reflects a desire to maintain control of its technology and preserve its licensing business model. However, by taking such a tough stance, Arm risks alienating key partners. The semiconductor industry thrives on collaboration and mutual dependencies. If companies view Arm as a litigious or restrictive partner, they may look for alternatives, undermining Arm’s market position in the long term. The trial in December will be a crucial moment. If the court sides with Arm, Qualcomm will have to scramble to find alternative solutions, potentially delaying product launches and ceding market share. If Qualcomm gains the upper hand, it could push other licensees to push the boundaries of their agreements, further challenging Arm’s control.

In the short term, consumers may not notice significant changes. Devices powered by Qualcomm’s current chips will continue to function and new product launches can continue as planned. However, prolonged legal battles and market uncertainty may ultimately lead to reduced innovation, higher costs or delays in the availability of advanced technology. On the other hand, a shift in Arm architectures could fragment the software ecosystem. Developers may need to optimize applications for multiple architectures, increasing complexity and resource requirements. On the other hand, this could also drive the adoption of cross-platform solutions and more efficient coding practices.

In an industry where innovation and collaboration are intertwined, the Arm-Qualcomm feud serves as a stark reminder of the complexities of intellectual property, competitive strategy and the ever-evolving quest for technological supremacy. The ultimate impact remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the semiconductor landscape is on the cusp of significant change.

Follow us

Mithun Mohandas

Mithun Mohandas is an Indian technology journalist with 10 years of experience in consumer technology. He currently works at Digit as Managing Editor. Mithun has a background in Computer Engineering and was an active member of the IEEE during his college days. He has a penchant for digging deep into unraveling what makes a device tick. If there’s a transistor in there, Mithun will probably tear it apart until he finds it. At Digit he deals with processors, graphics cards, storage media, displays and networking equipment, apart from everything related to developers. As an avid PC gamer, he prefers RTS and FPS titles and can be quite competitive in a race to the finish. He only gets consoles for the exclusives. You can see him in Valorant, World of Tanks, HITMAN and occasionally Age of Empires, or he’s the voice behind hundreds of Digit videos. View full profile