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Arm Holdings has cancelled its architectural license with Qualcomm, escalating a tense legal battle between the two tech giants. The UK-based company has issued a 60-day notice to Qualcomm, terminating the license that allows the U.S. chipmaker to design its processors using Arm’s intellectual property.
First reported by Bloomberg, the legal friction between these two companies centres on vital smartphone technology, and this latest move threatens to disrupt both the smartphone and personal computing ecosystem. With an estimated revenue of $39 billion, Qualcomm faces potentially severe consequences if the cancellation takes effect and will be forced to halt sales of its core products or face substantial damages claim.
Qualcomm’s recent announcement to integrate Nuvia’s Oryon architecture into its widely-used Snapdragon processors for smartphones is seen by Arm as a breach of the licensing agreement.
According to Arm’s lawsuit, the Nuvia designs — created before the acquisition — cannot be transferred without its permission. Arm is demanding Qualcomm destroy all Nuvia designs, further intensifying the stakes in this legal battle.
If Arm successfully cancels the architectural license, Qualcomm’s ability to independently design chips using Arm’s instruction set would be severely hampered. While Qualcomm would still be able to license Arm’s existing designs under separate agreements, this shift would not only delay the company’s product development but also waste years of prior work.
The dispute has been simmering since 2022 when Arm initially sued Qualcomm for breach of contract and trademark infringement. The core issue lay in Qualcomm’s acquisition of Nuvia, a chip-designing startup, in 2021. Arm argues that Qualcomm failed to renegotiate the license terms following the acquisition, thus breaching their agreement.
Qualcomm, on the other hand, contends that its existing license covers Nuvia’s operations and that Arm’s claims are baseless.
In response to the cancellation notice, Qualcomm has expressed its dismay, accusing Arm of attempting to manipulate the legal process.
Both companies are crucial players in advancing mobile technology, and their fallout marks a potential realignment in the semiconductor industry. While Arm has been moving towards offering ready-made chip designs that can be taken directly to manufacturers rather than simply licensing its instruction set. On the other hand, Qualcomm is increasingly focused on moving away from reliance on Arm by developing its designs.
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