Arm introduced a new model to expand ways partners can access and licence its technology for semiconductor design, a move it said gives businesses more freedom to address opportunities in 5G, IoT and machine learning.

Dubbed Arm Flexible Access, the company said the tool gives design teams unlimited access to its silicon designs to initiate projects before they commit to pay for an IP licence, and then “pay only for what they use at production”.

A number of partners have signed on to the platform already, Arm said, which gives them access “to a wide range of IP products, support tools and training”.

Arm added the new access tool complements standard Arm licensing, which it said is still the best option for partners seeking its full product portfolio and most advanced IP.

The company explained that typically partners licence individual components and pay a fee upfront before they can access the technology.

With its new tool, they can pay a “modest fee” for immediate access to a broad portfolio of technology, before paying a licence fee only when they commit to manufacturing. This will then be followed by royalties payments for each unit shipped.

Rene Haas, president of Arm’s IP Product Group, said Flexible Access “was created to address the opportunities presented by a world of 1 trillion securely connected devices”.