ARM is one of the most important companies in the technology sector, albeit many users are unaware of its existence.
In this guide we explain in detail what is ARM and why its existence is essential on your mobile, that tool with which you communicate, have fun, work or even study.
Understanding the role of this company also means understanding why its purchase by NVIDIA for $ 40.000 million represents such a significant change in the tech industry.
Without further ado, let's jump into ARM to tell you what this company does, what this company has to do with your mobile and its main differences with Intel, one of its great rivals.
ARM is a key company in the technological world, especially related to smartphones and computers
What exactly does ARM mean?
ARM –Advanced RISC Machines- is a company dedicated to semiconductor creation and software development.
Created in 1990 in Cambridge (United Kingdom), this multinational is known for its ARM (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture, used in the most processors for smartphones, computers and tablets.
As we have seen explaining the importance of ARM in Huawei processors, the ARM architecture is based on 32 and 64-bit instructions, which are subsequently licensed and sold to companies such as Qualcomm, which use such architecture as base to create your own processors.
Therefore, ARM is the origin of the processors used in most of the phones and computers on the planet, and this is its importance.
Apple, Samsung or Huawei - before the end of the collaboration - are some of the manufacturers using ARM chips to develop their own devices.
Who is behind ARM?
Prior to its purchase by NVIDIA, ARM was in the hands of Softbank, a company that bought it for $ 32 billion in 2016.
This Japanese company will not completely disappear from ARM Holdings when the purchase is approved by regulatory bodies, since will keep a 10% stake.
Just 4 years after its purchase, Softbank sells ARM in what is already considered one of the technological movements of 2020.
40.000 million dollars is the price that the US company NVIDIA will pay for ARM, although the transaction has yet to be investigated and approved by agencies of different countries, a process that may require a year and a half.
NVIDIA takes over ARM with the idea of give artificial intelligence the importance it deserves. This was confirmed by Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA:
Over the next few years, billions of computers running artificial intelligence will create a new "Internet of Things" that will be thousands of times larger than what we know today. Our combination will create a company uniquely positioned for the age of AI.
Headquartered in Santa Clara (California, United States), NVIDIA is a renowned multinational specializing in development of graphic processing units and integrated circuit technologies for mobile phones, computers and workstations.
If the deal is confirmed in the coming months, NVIDIA, along with ARM, would become the primary creator of chip with the best performance in terms of Artificial Intelligence.
This data it's not a surprise if we remember that ARM presented in May 2019 a new generation of chips with 60% more speed in mobile Artificial Intelligence.
What does ARM have to do with my cell phone?
ARM architecture is the base from which the creation of most of the processors starts for mobile phones, computers and tablets.
The best example is Qualcomm, which purchases the ARM architecture license for create its popular Snapdragon processors, present in many terminals.
Therefore, most likely your cell phone has an ARM chip inside of.
ARM processors require fewer transistors than Intel and AMD x86 processors, something that has a direct impact on your mobile by requiring less energy consumption and generating less heat.
Samsung is one of the manufacturers that uses ARM chips.
ARM vs Intel: what are the main differences?
ARM processors find direct rivals in the market in Intel chips, but what are the differences between the products of both companies?
While ARM is based on the RISC architecture, Intel (X86) chips are architecture based CISC, with a more complex structure than the first.
While a CISC processor requires a single command to perform an action, a ARM processor requires multiple commands to perform the same activity.
These step-by-step instructions enable the chip ARM di run faster of an X86.
In addition, the ARM technology allows the processor to operate a low power, low processing power loss and low heat generation.
Thanks to fast task completion, low power consumption and low heat generation, ARM chips are ideal for mobile phones and other small devices.
On the other hand we have the X86 chips which, having a more complex process, it is ideal for personal computers in which to carry out large activities.
Intel also tried it with mobile phones and we see it this way in models like ASUS Zenfone 2 or Lenovo K8.
However, for the reasons we commented on earlier, the reality is that Intel Atom they weren't as good as ARM processors to work in cell phones and therefore they failed to convince the big producers.
