Tim Cook’s Long Bet with Chip Maker Arm
Ahead of Apple’s heavily anticipated launch of their fifteenth iteration of the revolutionary iPhone, the megacap leader announced their long-term partnership that may span several decades. Beginning as early as 1993, Apple launched several new technologies with the help of British chip and software manufacturer Arm. From the 2001 iPod to the 2007 iPhone, Apple has maintained a steady and healthy relationship with Arm, but it was only in 2020 that this relationship became full-fledged. During the height of the pandemic, Apple took the risky leap to build all their iPhone, iPad, and Mac products with in-house, custom-built chips. As opposed to their previous chips powered by Intel, Apple took their familiar approach to vertical integration by introducing Apple silicon, which is heavily influenced and operated alongside technology created by Arm.
Now, Apple announced a long-term investment into Arm’s crowned jewel: the intellectual property dubbed the Arm architecture. The agreement between the two firms has been slated to span through 2040 and beyond, with Apple putting heavy emphasis on its intellectual security. Although Arm powers several other technologies across the world, their upcoming IPO listing has the potential to spell issues in the future. If other big firms hoped to act as cornerstone investors, they could buy large stakes in Arm and have a greater say on how the chip manufacturer must be operated. With Apple securing this deal that currently has no official end date, they can hope to be sure their access, innovation, and intellectual property surrounding Arm-powered Apple silicon will continue to be a success across the next several decades.
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I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.