Microsoft deepens deal with Arm Holdings, gains access to Arm’s core architecture

“Shares in Arm Holdings rose more than 11 per cent on Friday after the UK microchip designer announced a new licensing agreement with Microsoft,” Maija Palmer reports for The Financial Times. “The deal is thought to signal Arm’s long-awaited breakthrough into the computer market.”

“The deal deepens an existing 13-year relationship between the two companies, giving Microsoft access to Arm’s core architecture, rather than licensing one product at a time as it has done previously,” Palmer reports.

“Analysts said the deal could also mean that Microsoft will develop its own applications processing chip for mobile devices and games consoles, much as Apple has done with the A4 chip – also based on Arm architecture – that runs its iPad tablet and iPhone 4 smart phone,” Palmer reports. “Such a chip could be used in the next generation of the XBox games console, or even a Microsoft tablet.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: It would’ve been a lot cheaper to acquire Arm a couple of months ago, if one were interested in acquiring Arm, of course.