- Arm’s valuation drops massively as investors react to Qualcomm’s shift toward RISC-V development
- Qualcomm’s Ventana acquisition prompts concerns about future Arm demand
- Market response reflects uncertainty over evolving CPU strategies
Arm’s market value dropped sharply following Qualcomm’s announcement of its acquisition of Ventana Micro Systems, triggering renewed concern about the British chip designer’s long term position.
Shares have slipped over the past several days, dropping to about $130.60 at one point, leaving Arm’s market cap near $138.85bn.
Qualcomm’s stock moved in the opposite direction, rising to about $170.39 and lifting its market cap to roughly $190.55bn.
RISC-V gets a boost
The reaction came after Qualcomm announced plans to deepen its work on RISC-V through the Ventana deal.
The move points to a future in which Qualcomm could develop RISC-V cores alongside the Arm based Oryon CPUs used in its current platforms, something traders see as a possible shift in long term architecture planning.
The acquisition strengthens Qualcomm’s RISC-V engineering base. Durga Malladi, the chip giant’s executive vice president and general manager, said, “At Qualcomm, we are committed to shaping the future of intelligent computing. We believe the RISC-V instruction set architecture has the potential to advance the frontier on CPU technology, enabling innovation across products. The acquisition of Ventana Micro Systems marks a pivotal step in our journey to deliver industry-leading RISC-V based CPU technology across products.”
Balaji Baktha, Ventana’s CEO, said, “We are thrilled to join the Qualcomm team and contribute our RISC-V expertise in the development of Qualcomm’s leading Oryon CPU technology. Qualcomm’s acquisition marks an exciting new chapter for our team and we look forward to joining Qualcomm’s team to push the boundaries of energy-efficient high-performance for next-generation products and experiences.”
Ventana, founded in 2018, develops high performance RISC-V chiplet designs aimed at data center and enterprise uses.
Its Veyron V2 design features up to 32 cores, vector units and matrix accelerators built for AI tasks.
The company has also discussed a next generation line expected to deliver higher clocks and expanded math capabilities.
Qualcomm hasn’t provided timelines for any Ventana based products. It continues to work on its Oryon CPU roadmap in parallel, although the acquisition suggests it’s preparing a broader architecture strategy.
Arm shareholders reacted quickly to that possibility, sending the stock downwards as markets weigh how expanded RISC-V adoption from a major customer could negatively influence demand for Arm IP in the years ahead.
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