ARM license dispute puts Qualcomm chip empire at risk

Qualcomm has built a huge CPU empire over the decades. However, much of the company's product base, like the vast range of Snapdragon processors, all use technology licensed out via ARM. Now, a dispute between Arm and Qualcomm could blow it all up.

According to Bloomberg, Arm has issued a 60-day notice of cancellation to Qualcomm, which will scrap the licensing deal the two companies currently have in place. It is the latest escalation in a multi-year feud between the two companies, as Arm was unhappy with Qualcomm's 2022 merger with Nuvia, as that company was also developing products using an Arm license.

The move is being viewed as a strongarm tactic as Qualcomm and Arm renegotiate licensing terms. The Arm architecture is at the heart of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors, which have received huge support in the laptop market this year, with the Snapdragon Elite powering hundreds of Copilot+ PCs.

Qualcomm currently generates around $40 billion per year in revenue, with a good chunk of that coming from Snapdragon processors. However, Qualcomm also has a number of other lucrative business areas, including widely-used smartphone modem and wireless technologies.

KitGuru Says: Much like the big dispute between Apple and Qualcomm several years ago, I feel that in this case, Arm and Qualcomm are both too big to not settle things. Much like Apple needed Qualcomm's help with the iPhone, Qualcomm needs to maintain its relationship with Arm for the betterment of its most successful products.

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