Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has expressed his interest in joining a consortium aimed at purchasing Arm Holdings.
Nvidia called off its attempt to purchase Arm in early February. The deal had met with backlash in both the US and the EU, with many concerned about a potential conflict of interest. Arm doesn’t manufacture any of its semiconductor designs, but does license them to whatever company is willing to pay. Many industry experts were concerned Nvidia may keeps Arm’s best designs for its own use, breaking with the company’s long-standing practice.
Now that the Nvidia/Arm deal has fallen though, many are wondering what will become of Arm. While it has owned Arm since 2016, SoftBank had made it clear that it wanted to sell or spin off the semiconductor firm, likely to help offset the losses it has suffered with other investments.
One possibility that was raised even before Nvidia’s ill-fated attempt to purchase Arm, was a consortium of companies purchasing the firm. According to Reuters, Gelsinger has left the door open to that possibility.
“We’re not big users of Arm, but we do use Arm. We’re going to get to be bigger users of Arm as we make it part of our IFS (foundry business) agenda as well,” he told Reuters. “So if a consortium would emerge, we would probably be very favorable to participate in it in some manner.”
Meanwhile, following the failed Nvidia deal, SoftBank has indicated it will take the semiconductor firm public, an outcome Gelsinger would also support.