Arm to Strengthen Focus on Semiconductor IP Business

By Ken Briodagh July 14, 2020

In a recent announcement, Arm proposed strategic organizational changes that the company said will strengthen its focus on growth and profitability. The release said that the company is proposing to transfer its two IoT Services Group (ISG) businesses, IoT Platform and Treasure Data, to new entities that would be owned and operated by SoftBank and its affiliates. Softbank bought ARM in 2016 for $30.5 billion.

Upon completion of the proposed transfer, Arm reportedly will deepen its focus on its core semiconductor IP business and said it expects to continue collaborating with the new ISG businesses.

“Arm believes there are great opportunities in the symbiotic growth of data and compute,” said Simon Segars, CEO, Arm. “SoftBank’s experience in managing fast-growing, early-stage businesses would enable ISG to maximize its value in capturing the data opportunity. Arm would be in a stronger position to innovate in our core IP roadmap and provide our partners with greater support to capture the expanding opportunities for compute solutions across a range of markets.”

The transfer of the ISG businesses is subject to further board review, customary closing conditions, consultation with local staff representatives (where applicable) and, if approved, is expected to be finalized by the end of September 2020.

To learn about all sorts of growth opportunities in the IoT, join us at next year’s IoT Evolution Expo 2021: It’s Time to Grow, taking place in Miami in February. Call for speakers now open.

Ken Briodagh is a storyteller, writer and editor with about two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.

Edited by Ken Briodagh