- Arm Valuation Falls Hugely as Investors React to Qualcomm’s Shift Toward RISC-V Development
- Qualcomm’s Ventana acquisition raises concerns about future Arm demand
- Market response reflects uncertainty over evolving CPU strategies
Arm’s market value fell sharply following Qualcomm’s announcement of its acquisition of Ventana Micro Systems, prompting renewed concern about the British chip designer’s long-term position.
Shares have fallen in recent days, falling to around $130.60 at one point, leaving Arm’s market capitalization near $138.85 billion.
Qualcomm shares moved in the opposite direction, rising to around $170.39 and raising its market capitalization to about $190.55 billion.
RISC-V gets a boost
The backlash came after Qualcomm announced plans to deepen its work on RISC-V through the deal with Ventana.
The move points to a future in which Qualcomm could develop RISC-V cores alongside the Arm-based Oryon CPUs used in its current platforms, something traders see as a possible shift in long-term architecture planning.
The acquisition strengthens Qualcomm’s RISC-V engineering foundation. Durga Malladi, executive vice president and general manager of the chip giant, said: “At Qualcomm, we are committed to shaping the future of intelligent computing. We believe the RISC-V instruction set architecture has the potential to advance the frontier of CPU technology, enabling innovation across all products. The acquisition of Ventana Micro Systems marks a critical step in our journey to deliver industry-leading RISC-V-based CPU technology across all products.”
Balaji Baktha, CEO of Ventana, said: “We are delighted to join the Qualcomm team and contribute our RISC-V expertise in the development of Qualcomm’s leading Oryon CPU technology. The acquisition of Qualcomm marks an exciting new chapter for our team and we look forward to joining the Qualcomm team to push the boundaries of energy-efficient high performance for next-generation products and experiences.”
Ventana, founded in 2018, develops high-performance RISC-V chiplet designs aimed at enterprise and data center uses.
Its Veyron V2 design features up to 32 cores, vector units and matrix accelerators designed for AI tasks.
The company has also discussed a next-generation line that is expected to offer higher clocks and expanded math capabilities.
Qualcomm has not provided timelines for any Ventana-based products. It continues to work in parallel on its Oryon CPU roadmap, although the acquisition suggests it is preparing a broader architecture strategy.
Arm shareholders reacted quickly to that possibility, sending shares tumbling as markets weighed how expanded adoption of RISC-V by a major customer could negatively impact demand for Arm IP in the coming years.
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