ARM Holdings Plc history, profile and corporate video
ARM Holdings Plc operates as a semiconductor intellectual property supplier, which designs microprocessors, physical IP and related technology and software, and sells development tools. Its comprehensive product offering includes 16/32/64-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, graphics processors, digital libraries, embedded memories, peripherals, software and development tools, as well as analog functions and high-speed connectivity products. The company operates its business through the following divisions: Processor, Physical IP, and System Design. The Processor division encompasses the resources that are centered on microprocessor cores, including specific functions, such as graphics IP, fabric IP, embedded software IP, and configurable digital signal processing IP. The Physical IP division is engaged in the building blocks necessary for translation of a circuit design into actual silicon. The System Design division develops and sells the tools and models used to create and debug software and SoC designs. ARM Holdings was founded by Michael P. Muller on October 16, 1990, and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
ARM Holdings History
Name
The acronym ARM, first used in 1983, originally stood for “Acorn RISC Machine”, the processor from Acorn Computers, its first RISC processor used in the original Acorn Archimedes and one of the first RISC processors. However, when the company was incorporated in 1990, the acronym was changed to stand for “Advanced RISC Machines” in the company name “Advanced RISC Machines Ltd.” Then, at the time of the IPO in 1998, the company name was changed to “ARM Holdings”, often just called ARM just as the processors.
Founding
The company was founded in November 1990 as Advanced RISC Machines Ltd and structured as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.), and VLSI Technology. The new company intended to further the development of the Acorn RISC Machine processor, which was originally used in the Acorn Archimedes and had been selected by Apple for their Newton project. Its first profitable year was 1993. The company’s Silicon Valley and Tokyo offices were opened in 1994. In 1997, ARM invested in Palmchip Corporation to provide a system on chip platforms and to enter into the disk drive market. In 1998 the Company changed its name from Advanced RISC Machines Ltd to ARM Ltd. The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in 1998. Apple’s shareholding had fallen to 14.8% by February 1999.
In 2010, ARM joined with IBM, Texas Instruments, Samsung, ST-Ericsson, and Freescale Semiconductor in forming a Not For Profit Open Source engineering company, Linaro.
*Information from Forbes.com and Arm.com
**Video published on YouTube by “Arm“