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Precisely what I was thinking. Does anyone know if there is a reason Intel hasn't just acquired ARM? I assume Intel believes that they might still be able to

Precisely what I was thinking. Does anyone know if there is a reason Intel hasn't just acquired ARM? I assume Intel believes that they might still be able to compete and win in the market, but that seems to be less true every day. (I assume the answer is that it would raise a bunch of anti-trust flags everywhere, but I'm not positive about that.)

anamax 16y ago
> Does anyone know if there is a reason Intel hasn't just acquired ARM? Intel had an ARM license and got rid of it, which suggests that Intel doesn't think that ARM is worth the trouble.
- andrewcooke 16y ago
  Or didn't want conflict of interest / intellectual property issues when developing Atom?
- gonzo 16y ago
  If Intel got rid of its ARM license, how do they build all these? http://www.intel.com/design/iio/index.htm?iid=ipp_embed+proc_io http://www.intel.com/design/iio/index.htm?iid=ipp_embed+proc... Intel makes several 'families' of ARM (Xscale) based parts: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE. Intel sold the PXA family to Marvell Technology Group in June 2006. The simple fact is that Intel still holds an ARM license even after the sale of the PXA family to Marvell.
  - anamax 16y ago
    > If Intel got rid of its ARM license, how do they build all these? You're right - I misread what happened with StrongArm.
roc 16y ago
My guesses? Because the Intel leadership signed off on selling their ARM interest (XScale) to Marvell. (The very group that is now turning out a product aimed directly at Intel's lucrative server products) So it would take a gigantic admission of error for Intel to start up another ARM group. Someone would probably have to resign and I can't imagine anyone's eager. Also, the profit on being an also-ran ARM supplier is nothing compared to what they could do as a market-dominating mobile-x86 supplier. It's longer odds, but higher payoff. And the way ARM licenses get passed around (as I understand it) Intel isn't really falling behind by pursuing x86. If they reverse themselves five years down the line, they can quickly catch back up, close enough to the state of the best ARM processors that their superior fab tech can make competitive chips. In any case, they've always said mobile x86 was a long-term bet. I don't think they honestly expect to be competitive for at least a few more years. So any evaluation and possible surrender is still down the line a bit. Particularly as they're still hitting their targets and estimates for improvements in the ATOM line.
- istari 16y ago
  Isn't Intel having another go at it by acquiring Infineon? http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/08/30/intel-acquires-infineons-wireless-solutions-business-for-1-4-billion/ http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/08/30/intel-acquires-infine...

anamax 16y ago

> Does anyone know if there is a reason Intel hasn't just acquired ARM? Intel had an ARM license and got rid of it, which suggests that Intel doesn't think that ARM is worth the trouble.

andrewcooke 16y ago
Or didn't want conflict of interest / intellectual property issues when developing Atom?
gonzo 16y ago
If Intel got rid of its ARM license, how do they build all these? http://www.intel.com/design/iio/index.htm?iid=ipp_embed+proc_io http://www.intel.com/design/iio/index.htm?iid=ipp_embed+proc... Intel makes several 'families' of ARM (Xscale) based parts: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE. Intel sold the PXA family to Marvell Technology Group in June 2006. The simple fact is that Intel still holds an ARM license even after the sale of the PXA family to Marvell.
- anamax 16y ago
  > If Intel got rid of its ARM license, how do they build all these? You're right - I misread what happened with StrongArm.

roc 16y ago

My guesses? Because the Intel leadership signed off on selling their ARM interest (XScale) to Marvell. (The very group that is now turning out a product aimed directly at Intel's lucrative server products) So it would take a gigantic admission of error for Intel to start up another ARM group. Someone would probably have to resign and I can't imagine anyone's eager. Also, the profit on being an also-ran ARM supplier is nothing compared to what they could do as a market-dominating mobile-x86 supplier. It's longer odds, but higher payoff. And the way ARM licenses get passed around (as I understand it) Intel isn't really falling behind by pursuing x86. If they reverse themselves five years down the line, they can quickly catch back up, close enough to the state of the best ARM processors that their superior fab tech can make competitive chips. In any case, they've always said mobile x86 was a long-term bet. I don't think they honestly expect to be competitive for at least a few more years. So any evaluation and possible surrender is still down the line a bit. Particularly as they're still hitting their targets and estimates for improvements in the ATOM line.

istari 16y ago
Isn't Intel having another go at it by acquiring Infineon? http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/08/30/intel-acquires-infineons-wireless-solutions-business-for-1-4-billion/ http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/08/30/intel-acquires-infine...