NVIDIA ENDANGERS ARM MODEL: Concerns Mount as Nvidia Enters Server Market

摘要

Headwinds are rising against Nvidia's plan to acquire Arm. Since the deal's announcement last fall, leading Arm customers have criticized the planned acquisition for its potential to tilt today's neutral playing field toward a single licensee. Some have even turned away from Arm cores for future products. The UK and other countries will scrutinize the deal. Nvidia's recent disclosure that it will begin selling Arm-based server processors raises further concerns. When announcing the deal last fall, Nvidia pledged to maintain Arm's neutrality (see MPR 9/28/20, "Nvidia Grabs Arm for AI"), but it has yet to publicly detail specific steps it will take to avoid conflicts of interest between its potential roles as an intellectual-property (IP) supplier and a major customer of that IP. In the absence of any legally binding commitments, the new owner would have full control over Arm's roadmap and the power to delay or even prevent a customer from licensing new IP.