Created: Apr 21, 2026
Updated: Apr 22, 2026
For everyone who is here for a simple definition:
ARM processors are part of a family of central processing units (CPUs). The ARM processor is based on the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture.
And if you are here for more profound knowledge, keep reading.
Before it gets confusing, let's understand one crucial thing: there are two ARMs: a company and a processor. In this article, you would probably figure out which one is in discussion from the context, but just to give you a heads-up.
The ARM processor appeared first, and then ARM as a company came into the picture; however, they are very much interconnected.
Acorn Computers - How it all started
It all started with Acorn Computers, a company established in 1978 by co-founders Chris Curry and Hermann Hauser. Their company wanted to get into the world of processors and home computers. With the help of talented engineers from Cambridge University (to be more specific, Cambridge University processor group - a club of smart people fascinated by processors) - Professor Steve Furber and Sophie Wilson, they managed to create their first home computer, Acorn Atom, which became somewhat popular and definitely found its audience.
Not long after, Acorn managed to secure a major government initiative for the BBC to start educating people with computers and to make them part of everyday school education. For this contract, Acorn created the BBC Micro, which became the BBC program's flagship computer.
As part of this initiative, Professor Steve Furber and Sophie Wilson designed the very first ARM processor chip, ARM1—a simple but powerful processor—the Acorn RISC Machine, which used Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) architecture, hence the name.
(If you would like to learn more about the company's story, these two videos, Part 1 and Part 2, feature the story of Acorn Computers and the early days of the ARM processor in great detail with fun illustrations.)
However, Acorn experienced financial difficulties in the mid-80s, leading to the company's acquisition by Olivetti Group, an Italian computer company. At this stage, Hauser (one of the founders) initially served as VP of Research at the Olivetti Group but left the company soon after; meanwhile, Wilson and Furber continued working on the next ARM processor, ARM2.
ARM as a company
In November 1990, ARM was officially founded as Advanced RISC Machines Ltd., a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple Computers, and VLSI Technology.
The new company was started with new people. A team of 12 ARM architecture designers: Jamie Urquhart, Mike Muller, Tudor Brown, Lee Smith, John Biggs, Harry Oldham, Dave Howard, Pete Harrod, Harry Meekings, Al Thomas, Andy Merritt, and David Seal. A year later, in 1991, a new team of 12 met with their soon-to-be Chairman and CEO, Robin Saxby, at a pub to plan the company’s future.
The cooperation with Apple occurred because Apple needed a very powerful processor that could run on battery power to power the Apple Newton, a personal assistant device. In 1993, when Apple Newton launched, it did not become a commercial success, so ARM needed more partners, as it would not survive on a single product.
ARM as an IP
Robin Saxby introduced a novel idea. The IP business model. ARM would license the technology to many other companies for an upfront license fee and following royalties based on the silicon produced.
ARM as a processor for mobile phones - Texas Instruments and Nokia
Eventually, the ARM company found two new breakthrough partners. First, they started licensing to the American company Texas Instruments so they could create an ARM processor for a mobile phone. The second one was the Finnish company Nokia, which at the time was developing the phone model 6110, which required long battery life, making it perfect for ARM technology.
After 6110's huge battery life success, the ARM license drew the attention of a Japanese company called Sharp, which manufactures processors for a Nintendo secret project - the Gameboy Advance.
ARM as a continuous success
No matter the tech crash of the early 2000s, Arm continued its success and development as a company. Thanks to ARM's popularity in the mobile market, the ARM processor became the most widely used processor architecture. Due to its success, Arm tripled its headcount from 400 to 1300 in three years during the 2000s.
ARM as a diverse family of processors
To maintain its success, Arm had to diversify its product line by introducing new Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M CPU processors. Arm was trying to cover as much of the market as possible, where each product was focused on performing exceptionally well in a specific field.
Cortex-A—(first introduced in 2005) is a processor for mobile phones that is both high-performance and efficient. This processor solidified ARM’s place in the mobile space.
Cortex-R - (first introduced in 2011) is a processor focused on highly specialized real-time requirements for automotive systems and industrial control, where processors must be reliable and predictable in their operations.
Cortex-M - (first introduced in 2006) is a processor focused on providing low-power, low-cost cores for microcontrollers, championing energy efficiency.
Additionally, Arm entered the GPU market with its Mali GPU (first introduced in 2006), a graphics processing unit for a wide range of devices.
ARM as a processor for smartphones
The first smartphones from LG and Apple were introduced in 2006 and 2007, respectively, increasing the need for high-performance processors, long battery life, and a wide range of computing capabilities as mobile applications became more prevalent.
As their first response to the demand for smartphones, ARM introduced a new Cortex-A9 multi-core CPU, and in 2011, followed with a “big.LITTLE” architecture that combined a high-performance core with a lower-power core when high performance was not needed.
“big.LITTLE” architecture is still used by ARM even today.
ARM as a processor for connected devices
The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices during the early to mid-2010s created additional room for Arm's expansion. ARM technologies went beyond mobile, powering other connected devices. In 2022, 65 percent of the world's embedded IoT devices were developed using Arm-based system-on-chips (SoCs).
ARM as a private company
On September 5th, 2016, SoftBank—a Japanese multinational investment holding company owned by Masayoshi Son—acquired Arm, making it a private company after about 20 years of being a public company. SoftBank became the company’s controlling shareholder.
ARM as a chip for supercomputers and cars
The acquisition by SoftBank allowed Arm to invest more money in the company itself and research and development for new markets, including automotive and infrastructure.
In October 2018, Arm launched the Neoverse product line for high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud computing solutions. Because of this new product, Arm-based technology was adopted across all major hyperscalers (organizations that operate massive-scale data centers and cloud infrastructure to support their business operations). On top of that, Arm-based SoCs (System-on-a-Chip) powered the fastest supercomputer in the world at the time (2019).
In the meantime, the vehicle market was growing, as was the need for more power-efficient computation, and luckily, Arm has been active in this market for over twenty years.
In 2020, NVIDIA, a close partner of Arm in the data center market, announced its strong interest in acquiring Arm. Unfortunately, after 18 months of negotiations, NVIDIA withdrew its proposal due to significant regulatory challenges.
ARM is an even more advanced chip
In March 2021, during Arm’s Vision Day, the company announced the launch of a new Armv9 architecture that provides processors with more advanced computing capabilities and security. The architecture is claimed to be a solution for the future needs of AI, Security, and Specialized Computing.
ARM, as a leader in technology
Right now, Arm is one of the biggest tech companies in the world. With 43 offices in 21 countries and over 6,000 employees worldwide, it has its headquarters in Cambridge, UK. Arm is a global leader in technology licensed to semiconductor companies; more than 265 billion chips powered by Arm architectures have been shipped worldwide across various devices.
We can only wonder what the next ARM development will be.
Resources
The History of the ARM Architecture
History of ARM: Part 1 (Video)
History of ARM: Part 2 (Video)