Apple was earlier reported to be a part of the investing pool for ARM’s IPO that would see the British chip design firm’s valuation to be in the $50-$55 billion range. More importantly, the filing documents reveal that the California-based giant has another deal involving a licensing agreement for future iPhone and Mac chipsets that will remain valid for years to come.
Apple and ARM have shared a long history, one that started in 1990; in the IPO, around $735 million have reportedly been invested
The IPO filing reveals that ARM will release 95.5 million ordinary shares in the U.S., with the price to fall between $47 and $51. Apart from Apple, Reuters states that notable names in the industry, such as Samsung, AMD, Google, Intel, NVIDIA, MediaTek, Google, TSMC, and others, are investing a combined $735 million. Digging deeper, it was revealed that Apple and ARM have also renewed their licensing agreement that extends beyond 2040, allowing the development of more powerful and efficient iPhone and Mac chips for the future.
“We have established close partnerships with leading companies across all of our target markets, including, among others, Apple, OPPO, Samsung, vivo and Xiaomi in mobile computing, Amazon AWS and Alibaba in cloud compute, Cruise and Mercedes-Benz in advanced automotive, and Raspberry Pi, Schneider Electric and Siemens in industrial IoT. Further, we have entered into a new long-term agreement with Apple that extends beyond 2040, continuing our longstanding relationship of collaboration with Apple and Apple’s access to the Arm architecture.”
The IPO filing does not talk about Apple receiving preferential treatment from the chip designer, but it is likely that ARM would have a soft corner for the iPhone maker, given their history, which dates back to 1990, when Apple was one of the initial companies that founded ARM. Shortly after, the ‘Newton’ launched in 1993, sporting an ARM chip, and although it was a commercial failure, ARM became an established name in the mobile phone chip market, most notably thanks to the power efficiency of its designs.
The Reuters report notes that the ARM IPO filing documents did not mention the deal closing between the British company and Apple, so it is likely that a new partnership was inked on September 5.
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