ARM sent a warning to Qualcomm about the possible Termination of Use of Your Licenses within 60 days. It would be a fatal blow because the semiconductor manufacturer, the world’s largest maker of third-party mobile chips, is completely dependent on them.

ARM is the RISC architecture upon which much of today’s technology depends. His designs occupy 100% of global mobility (mobile phones, tablets, wearable devices…) and are also being introduced into others such as servers or PCs, where he wants to end the dominance of x86 and we have already seen its possibilities with Apple.

Responsible UK company ARM Holdings plc license agreements with hundreds of manufacturers and its architectural designs are present in billions of devices. That explains why a company that doesn’t make or sell any product has such a high valuation, more than the $40 billion that NVIDIA wanted to pay.

ARM vs. Qualcomm

Qualcomm, like hundreds of manufacturers, has licenses to use this architecture and designs of the British company. This agreement from “architectural license” It’s the foundation of the collaboration that allowed Qualcomm to make ARM semiconductors. Now, according to documents seen by Bloomberg, the British firm has sent a 60-day cancellation notice that could see the long-standing deal fall apart.

The conflict appears to stem from Qualcomm’s 2021 acquisition of chip design startup Nuvia. ARM claims that when Qualcomm acquired Nuvia, violated the license termsbecause she already had a separate contract. Qualcomm should have renegotiated those terms rather than simply absorbing Nuvia’s licenses, and that landed it in a lawsuit in 2022 for breach of contract and trademark infringement.

However, Qualcomm insists that the existing agreement covered everything related to the Nuvia acquisition. As a result, the company countersued, leading to an explosive court battle that is still ongoing.

Canceling the use of licenses within 60 days appears to be the last threat before an agreement is reached. Qualcomm can’t afford to lose its multi-billion dollar chip business, especially now with new developments for PCs, and maybe ARM Holdings can’t afford to lose such an important partner either.

The agreement is saved end the conflict…