No One Should buy ARM

News has recently broken that Softbank, the owner of ARM instruction set, has put ARM up for sale due to recent struggles of the pandemic. There have been several rumors ranging from Apple to Nvidia as suitors for ARM; but why is it up for sale in the first place? Let us get into it. 

I just want to take a moment to just look at the sheer scale of ARM. Nearly every single phone in existence uses processors that are based on the ARM instruction set. Some of the most powerful supercomputers use ARM processors. Apple one the largest companies in the world has been using ARM for their phones, tablets, and now laptops/desktops. All that to say that whoever buys ARM has a lot at stake not just for themselves, for everyone in the tech world.  

So, what is the worst-case scenario? I would say the worst-case scenario is having a power-hungry company buy ARM to have a stake in the Tech world, not to improve on the company. That company could reign in terror revoking licenses for petty reasons and making other companies go the way of the Huawei when it comes to making chipsets. Being partial, cutting deals with the highest bidder, and just shady behavior could throw a monkey wrench in the industry. Of course, antitrust panels would help solve the problem, but delays could spell ruin for one company and success for another.  

Of course, that's the worse-case scenario that is extremely unlikely, but it does offer a glimpse at the consequences that could come out of the sale of ARM. Coming back to reality I tend to see a name that appears often in the rumors: Nvidia.  Now Nvidia is a very reputable company that I respect and admire but not for this. Jerry Hildenbrand of Android Central authored a great article about why Nvidia buying ARM is a bad idea and I agree 100%.  

Jerry mentions how over time Nvidia will shape designs to help them, not the industry. Those small tweaks can have big effects on the industry as a whole and the controversy that would come with someone like Nvidia owning ARM just isn't worth it. The paralyzing point is that Nvidia makes its own ARM chipsets, if you make your own chipsets and control the instruction set your priming yourself up to be a dominant player in the industry. That situation is extremely controversial because a daring move like buying ARM could catapult Nvidia and leave everyone else behind. Not just Nvidia any company that is in the same position could face the same consequences; just imagine if Qualcomm bought ARM. Yeah, ouch. If anyone must own ARM is should be a non-partial 3rd party that could balance personal interest and the goodwill of the industry, anything short could lead to disaster. 

Thanks for reading and watching,

Best,

BenTechCoder

https://www.androidcentral.com/nvidia-buying-arm-really-bad-idea-buying-arm-really-bad-idea