VIDEO INTERVIEW: Simon Segars, CEO of UK-based chip designer ARM, says the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) market opens up new opportunities, and that the demands of the market – low power and miniaturisation – plays to the company’s strengths.
“We’ve been thinking about deeply-embedded processors for many years now, and have a whole range of microprocessors for this market running at a few hundred MHz compared with up to 2GHz you see in leading smartphones,” Segars told Mobile World Live in a recent interview.
“In an embedded device you need much less performance, so you optimise the power and the area to deliver the performance you need,” he said. “That enables our licensees to build chips that are just a few square millimetres of silicon, containing the processor, memory and all the peripherals.”
Segars added that ARM had already licensed its Cortex-M series – its smallest range processors – to about 200 companies.
“It’s all about partnership in bringing innovation to market,” he said.
ARM processors can be found in most smartphones today, and Segars reckoned that the company’s collaborative business model means it is well placed to continue its dominance.
“Our licensees are taking our technology, innovating with their own IP, and creating some of the most innovative devices that you see in the market today,” he said. “It’s a combination of our own ingenuity and R&D, and our partners’ R&D, that brings best results to market.”
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