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Arm Holdings SUPPLY CHAIN TRACE

CHIP IP🇬🇧 United Kingdom · ARM · NASDAQChokepoint

Arm Holdings licenses the CPU and NPU instruction set architecture and processor designs that underpin virtually every AI chip in mobile, edge, and increasingly cloud computing — from Apple's M4 and NVIDIA's Grace CPU to Qualcomm's Snapdragon. Arm also holds a legacy pre-2020 architecture license with Huawei HiSilicon, which continues to use Arm IP for its Kirin and Ascend chips under a grandfathered agreement predating US sanctions, though new or expanded licenses to Huawei are effectively frozen. As the owner of the dominant computing IP architecture, Arm is a structural chokepoint: any disruption to its licensing business (through geopolitical intervention, sanctions, or ownership change) would ripple across the entire AI chip ecosystem.

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Cadence

Leading EDA software provider; IC design tools (Virtuoso, Genus, Innovus) used by every advanced chip designer; US export-controlled to Chinese entities since 2022

Chokepoint🇺🇸
EDA TOOLSprovides EDA tools to

Synopsys

Largest EDA software provider; IC design and verification tools (Design Compiler, PrimeTime, VCS) essential for all advanced chip tapeouts; US export-controlled to Chinese entities

Chokepoint🇺🇸
EDA TOOLSprovides EDA tools to

↓ all supply to Arm Holdings ↓

Arm Holdings

Dominant CPU/NPU IP licensor; virtually all AI chips in mobile, edge, and cloud use Arm instruction set

UPSTREAM — SUPPLIERS ↑ · DOWNSTREAM — CUSTOMERS ↓
Chokepoint~99% mobile CPU IP, ~70% cloud CPU IP
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↓ Arm Holdings supplies to ↓

NVIDIA

Dominant AI GPU designer (H100, H200, B200)

Chokepoint🇺🇸
CHIP DESIGNERSlicenses CPU/NPU IP to

Apple

Designs Apple Silicon (M-series, A-series) — TSMC's single largest customer by wafer revenue

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EDGE DEVICESlicenses CPU/NPU IP to

Qualcomm

Leading mobile SoC and edge AI chip designer (Snapdragon X Elite, Cloud AI 100 inferencing)

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CHIP DESIGNERSlicenses CPU/NPU IP to

Broadcom

Custom ASIC and networking chip designer for hyperscalers

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CHIP DESIGNERSlicenses CPU/NPU IP to

Marvell

Custom AI ASIC and networking chip designer for hyperscalers; key supplier of Arm-based data center networking and storage controllers to AWS, Azure, and Google

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CHIP DESIGNERSlicenses CPU/NPU IP to

Huawei / HiSilicon

China's leading chip designer (Kirin mobile, Ascend AI); on US Entity List since 2019

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CHIP DESIGNERSlicenses CPU/NPU IP to (legacy pre-2020 grandfathered license)

MediaTek

World's #1 mobile SoC designer by volume; Dimensity AI chips compete with Qualcomm/Apple for TSMC advanced node capacity

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CHIP DESIGNERSlicenses CPU/NPU IP to

Samsung Mobile

World's largest smartphone maker; uses both Qualcomm Snapdragon and MediaTek in Galaxy phones; integrates Galaxy AI on-device features via NPU

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EDGE DEVICESlicenses Cortex-X/A CPU IP for Exynos SoCs to

DOWNSTREAM — CUSTOMERS

About this company

QWhat is Arm Holdings's role in the AI chip supply chain?

Dominant CPU/NPU IP licensor; virtually all AI chips in mobile, edge, and cloud use Arm instruction set

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