A move towards longer-term licensing deals has put British semiconductor firm ARM closer to becoming the standard microprocessing architecture for digital electronics worldwide, according to analysts.
London-based ARM, perking up a sluggish global semiconductor market, agreed on Monday to give Samsung Electronics access to its portfolio of intellectual property on embedded Risc (reduced instruction set computing) technology for future-generation products.
Financial details were not disclosed.
Analysts said the deal allowed ARM to further dominate the world market for semiconductor intellectual property and demonstrated the company's ability to adapt its licensing strategy to application trends, beating traditional chip-makers such as Intel, Motorola and Texas Instruments.
Gartner Asia-Pacific senior analyst Dorothy Lai said: 'ARM, which has been the de facto standard in the digital cellular market, is looking to stay ahead of the curve by branching out into a range of other digital electronics applications in which large manufacturers like Samsung are now focused on.'
Backed up by ARM, Samsung wants to step up programmes to make it the world's leading integrated circuit supplier in the wireless, networking, consumer entertainment and security markets.
Commenting on the Samsung deal, ARM chief executive Warren East said: 'This agreement comes at an especially important time for ARM as we continue to expand our presence in the Asia-Pacific market.'
