Conclusion: This is not harassment that can stop nVIDIA's acquisition of ARM
🟩Plotting a takeover of ARM’s rivals?
Intel considers acquisition of RISC-V processor developer SiFive for US$2 billion
**Neither Intel nor SiFive have commented on this matter.
It is aimed at ARM customers who do not want to work with Nvidia after the acquisition of ARM, i.e
. it is not a move to interfere with the acquisition of ARM itself.
🟩What to do to counter ARM’s monopoly
ARM accounts for about 95% of the smartphone market and more than 22 billion ARM CPU chips shipped annually from more
than 500 companies, and ARM is in the business of earning royalties for using Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), not
making things. On the other hand, semiconductor manufacturers felt threatened by the royalty to exclusive ARM, and RISC-V was paying attention to RISC-V, although it is a free and open ISA.
This predates Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM and should not have motivated Intel’s acquisition.
🟩Risks from ARM’s acquisition of Nvidia
Nvidia is a chipmaker
ARM is exclusive, but only licenses IP, and has not been a competitor from chipmakers, and Nvidia’s acquisition
makes chipmakers worried about the neutrality of ARM.
Nvidia is a U.S. company
ARM, as a UK company, was able to license its chips to Huawei without being subject to US export restrictions, but Nvidia is a US company,
so it is likely to be subject to the restrictions.
Against this background, RISC-V, an open ISA, is attracting even more attention, and
RISC-V is based in Switzerland and is outstanding in terms of neutrality.
🟩 Risks not related to Intel with its own CPU
The risk of Nvidia acquiring is not
relevant to Intel, which has its own CPUsWhy was this report?
A company called SiFive raised $61 million in August 2020, bringing total assets to US$190 million, and Intel’s US$2 billion takeover proposal, which is valued at an estimated $500 million,
is
a bit overvalued.
Those who already own SiFive shares will benefit from this report, including
Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, SK Hynix and Western Digital.
Very suspicious、、、
🟩Summary
I don’t think Intel’s acquisition of CPU companies is harassment of Nvidia
It is desirable that healthy competition in CPUs will improve convenience for users
