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Arm announced today that it will upgrade its already very successful Flexible Access Program (Arm Flexible Access for Startups) to provide more help to startup chip companies. According to Arm, this new program provides early silicon chip startups with zero-cost access to many of Arm's leading IPs, and provides global support and training resources to enable them to start their journey to commercial chips and commercial scale.
“Innovation is critical in today’s challenging business environment. Now more than ever, startups with great ideas need the fastest, most trusted path to success and scale,” said Dipti Vachani, senior vice president and general manager of Arm’s automotive and IoT product line. “Arm Flexible Access for Startups provides new entrants into the silicon industry with a faster, more cost-effective path to running prototypes, giving investors greater confidence in future funding.”
According to reports, early-stage silicon chip startups can now access a variety of Arm IPs for free, allowing them to experiment, design, and prototype with a variety of Arm solutions throughout the product development cycle. Arm defines "early stage" as startups with no more than $5 million in funding. Startups that meet these criteria will have access to ARM-based processors, including Arm IP portfolios such as Cortex-A, Cortex-R and Cortex-M processors, the department's ARM Mali™ graphics processors, ISPs, and other basic SoC building blocks. Startups can also supplement their internal skills and experience by using Arm's leading chip designers, software developers, support, training, and tool ecosystems.
As part of Arm Flexible Access for Startups, Arm also announced a strategic partnership with Silicon Catalyst, an incubator dedicated to helping startups accelerate chip solutions. Silicon Catalyst members can now access Arm IP, EDA tools and prototype silicon for free, significantly reducing costs at a critical stage of the business.
The announcement builds on the early success of the Arm Flexible Access program, which Arm launched last year, which enables partners to pay an annual fee for immediate access to a broad portfolio of technologies. The program has achieved significant momentum, with more than 40 customers now signed up, spanning areas such as IoT, edge AI, autonomous vehicles and medical wearables. Arm already has a successful track record of driving engagement with innovative smaller customers, hundreds of which have achieved great success using Arm technology, such as AI chip supplier Hailo and fabless semiconductor company Atmosic. This new program will enable further engagement with emerging silicon startups.
Arm Flexible Access for Startups Program Overview
Last July, Arm announced that it would expand the way it and new partners access and license its semiconductor design technology. Arm Flexible Access is a new engagement model that allows SoC design teams to start projects before licensing IP and pay only for the IP they use in production. With Arm Flexible Access for Startups, companies will give their design teams greater freedom to experiment, evaluate, and innovate.
“The Arm Flexible Access Solution was created to address the opportunities presented by a trillion securely connected devices,” said Rene Haas, president of Arm’s Intellectual Property Group. “By fusing unlimited design access with no upfront licensing commitments, we are enabling existing partners and new market entrants to address new growth opportunities in IoT, machine learning, autonomous vehicles and 5G.”
Several partners, including AlphaIC, Invecas and Nordic Semiconductor, have signed up to this new Arm engagement model and already have access to a wide range of IP products, support tools and training. Arm Flexible Access complements standard Arm licensing and will continue to be the best choice for partners seeking access to Arm’s full portfolio and most advanced IP. A detailed comparison of the latest Arm engagement models can be found here.
Typically, partners license individual components from Arm and pay a licensing fee before using the technology. With Arm Flexible Access for Startups, they pay a modest fee upfront to get immediate access to a broad portfolio of technologies, then pay a licensing fee only when they commit to manufacturing, and then pay royalties for each device shipped. The portfolio includes all the essential intellectual property (IP) and tools needed for SoC design, making it easier to evaluate or prototype with multiple IP blocks before committing to licensing fees.
Through Arm Flexible Access for Startups, the IP available includes most Arm-based processors in the Arm® Cortex®-A, -R and -M families. These CPUs account for 75% of all Cortex CPU licenses signed in the past two years. It also includes Arm TrustZone and CryptoCell security IP, some Mali GPUs, system IP, and tools and models for SoC design and early software development. It also includes access to Arm's global support and training services.
Try starting from M0 and M3
In recent years, due to the strong rise of RISC-V, many media and analysts have expressed concerns about the future of Arm. In response, Arm announced in 2015 that its Cortex-M0 would be exempted from prepaid licensing fees to accelerate developers' designs.
ARM said that the company will open the Cortex-M0 system through the DesignStart project, which has also opened a new wave of ultra-high energy-efficient customized SoC development. Because of DesignStart, hundreds of embedded design developers, start-ups and OEM manufacturers have become new members of the ARM ecosystem. The customized SoC designs they developed have brought embedded intelligence to many different IoT and connected devices. ARM has always valued feedback from all parties and has been focused on providing better products and services.
In 2017, ARM upgraded the DesignStart project again and added the Cortex-M3 processor to the program, paving the way to success for developers who want to design customized SoCs, helping innovators bring products to market with minimal risk and turning ideas into reality.
According to Arm's report, the company will cancel prepaid licensing or evaluation fees and instead operate in a model where royalties are collected only after the product is successfully mass-produced and shipped, reducing development risks. Instant free downloads can be used for evaluation and prototype development. With a simple downloadable license, customized CPUs can be applied for design in the early stages of project commercial development. It is reported that Arm China is also conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the plan.
In the past, when the RISC-V team described its opportunities, Arm's high license fees were a point of attack. But now, after Arm implemented the new plan, Arm has a stronger advantage in the competition for start-ups. And for entrepreneurs, it seems unnecessary to abandon the mature Arm ecosystem and turn to RISC-V.
What do you think of Arm's move?
*Disclaimer: This article is originally written by the author. The content of the article is the author's personal opinion. Semiconductor Industry Observer reprints it only to convey a different point of view. It does not mean that Semiconductor Industry Observer agrees or supports this point of view. If you have any objections, please contact Semiconductor Industry Observer.
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