Arm’s push into cars ‘a logical step’ amid competition from RISC-V
Chip designer Arm is rapidly expanding its automotive business amid increasing competition from open-source rival RISC-V.
The segment’s turnover has doubled since 2020, the Financial Times reports reports. Dennis Laudick, VP automotive go-to-market at Arm, attributed the growth to the number of chips needed for high-end cars, which he described as “data [centers] on wheels.”
This trend will accelerate as demand for electric and autonomous vehicles grows. Semico Research predicts the automotive chip IP market will double by 2027, which could prove critical to Arm’s future business.
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The UK-based company produces chip designs used by an estimated 95% of smartphones, but the company’s star has faded in recent months. Financial problems at parent company Softbank and a growing number of rivals have raised concerns about Arm’s long-term prospects.
Mark Lippett, CEO of chip specialist XMOStold TNW that focusing on vehicles was a sensible response.
“Thinking about the human experience, rather than the powertrain and other deeply embedded electronics that fit into a car, the interface with the driver is increasingly reliant on technology originally developed for handsets and tablets,” he said. “As such, advancements in the automotive sector are a logical next step for Arm.”
Another risk for Arm is the increasing competition from the RISC-V Foundation. The non-profit organization, headquartered in Switzerland, produces an open-source chip architecture that is attracting increasing interest.
RISC-V has proven itself particularly popular in China, where it could boost self-sufficiency in semiconductors and circumvent US export restrictions. But it has also caught the attention of Silicon Valley.
The architecture recently received a glowing endorsement from Google. In December, Android technical director Lars Bergstrom said, called up for RISC-V to be considered a “tier-1 platform” in the operating system – the same level as Arm.
“RISC-V could be considered more risky.
Google’s support makes it very possible that RISC-V smartphones with Android will hit the market within a few years, which would increase Arm’s fears. The British company does have a big lead in the automotive sector.
“The company’s main strength is already in producing application processors for mobile phones – and this will continue as long as it takes RISC-V to catch up,” said Bergstrom.
“The automotive sector also has a high degree of ecosystem complexity and historical conservatism. While this dynamic is slowly shifting, with disruptors like Tesla leading the way, other car companies may take longer to steer the ship away from an established standard like Arm to something newer like RISC-V, which can be considered riskier.”
Bergstrom advises RISC-V to focus on embedded segments such as IoT, which is more risk-tolerant and less dependent on an ecosystem of partners. In the automotive sector, however, the open source challenger is still catching up.
