SoftBank Chip Unit Arm Files For US IPO

RTTNews | 638天前
SoftBank Chip Unit Arm Files For US IPO

(RTTNews) - Chip designer Arm, owned by Japan's SoftBank, has filed for an initial public offering in the United States. The proposed IPO on the Nasdaq exchange is expected to be one of the largest listing in recent years.

The UK-based company revealed the IPO information in a filing with the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission, while a prospective share price is yet to be listed. The company plans to trade under the ticker symbol "ARM."

Arm, which started as a joint venture, first went public in 1998, before being taken private by SoftBank in 2016 in a $32 billion deal. Later, the Japanese bank had stuck a deal to sell the unit to U.S. chip maker Nvidia for $40 billion. However, Nvidia abandoned its offer after the Federal Trade Commission had sued to stop the deal citing concerns over competition and national security.

According to the filing, around 70 percent of the world's population is estimated to use Arm-based products. More than 30 billion Arm-based chips reported as shipped in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023 alone, representing around 70 percent increase since 2016.

The filing also shows that more than 260 companies reported to have shipped Arm-based chips in the last year, including tech majors Amazon.com, Inc. and Alphabet Inc., and major semiconductor chip vendors, such as Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Intel Corp., NVIDIA Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., among others. Its technology is also included in Apple's chips for iPhones.

Arm in its first quarter recorded net income from continuing operations of $105 million and total revenue of $675 million, both lower than last year. For the fiscal year that ended in March, the company reported $524 million in net income on $2.68 billion in revenue, lower than last year's net income of $676 million and revenues of $2.70 billion.

For the fiscal year, the company said it had three customers that collectively represented 44 percent of total revenue.

The news comes as Arm projects significant demand growth for chips with the exponential rise in smart devices in both consumer and enterprise markets, and amid the increasing use of artificial intelligence or AI, mainly generative AI applications.

The company said, "As the world moves increasingly towards AI- and ML-enabled computing, Arm will be central to this transition. Arm CPUs already run AI and ML workloads in billions of devices, including smartphones, cameras, digital TVs, cars and cloud data centers. The CPU is vital in all AI systems, whether it is handling the AI workload entirely or in combination with a co-processor, such as a GPU or an NPU. In the emerging area of large language models, generative AI and autonomous driving, there will be a heightened emphasis on the low power acceleration of these algorithms."

As of March 31, Arm had 5,963 full-time employees across North America, Europe and Asia.

read more
OpenAI Raises $40 Bln In SoftBank-led Funding Round At $300 Bln Post Valuation

OpenAI Raises $40 Bln In SoftBank-led Funding Round At $300 Bln Post Valuation

OpenAI announced that it has raised around $40 billion in the latest funding round led by Japan's SoftBank, valuing the ChatGPT maker at around $300 billion. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman stated that the investment helps the firm push the frontier and make AI more useful in everyday life.
RTTNews | 50天前
SoftBank's $100 Bln Pledge In US To Create 100K AI, Infrastructure Jobs

SoftBank's $100 Bln Pledge In US To Create 100K AI, Infrastructure Jobs

Japan's SoftBank Group is planning to invest $100 billion in the United States over the next four years, which would create more than 100,000 jobs in Artificial Intelligence or AI and related critical infrastructure. During President-elect Donald Trump's first news conference since the election, SoftBank founder and Chief Executive officer Masayoshi Son joined to make the announcement...
RTTNews | 155天前
SoftBank-backed WeWork Files For Bankruptcy

SoftBank-backed WeWork Files For Bankruptcy

Flexible space provider WeWork, which is backed by Japanese technology major SoftBank Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, which was once valued at $47 billion, has entered into restructuring support agreement with its key financial stakeholders, with a view to drastically reducing its existing funded debt.
RTTNews | 561天前
Japanese Market Notably Lower

Japanese Market Notably Lower

The Japanese market is trading notably lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 37,100 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
RTTNews | 8分钟前
Indonesia Bourse May Hand Back Wednesday's Gains

Indonesia Bourse May Hand Back Wednesday's Gains

The Indonesia stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the five-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 310 points or 4.5 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,140-point plateau, although it may head south again on Thursday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over rising bond yields. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets also figure to open under pressure.
RTTNews | 9分钟前
Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in consecutive trading days, accelerating almost 500 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 23,825-point plateau, although it's likely to run out of steam on Thursday.
RTTNews | 24分钟前
Australian Market Notably Lower

Australian Market Notably Lower

The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,300 level, with weakness across most sectors led by and technology stocks. Gold miners are the only bright spot.
RTTNews | 26分钟前
Rally May Stall For China Stock Market

Rally May Stall For China Stock Market

The China stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, improving more than 20 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 3,390-point plateau, although it may run out of steam on Thursday.
RTTNews | 39分钟前