ARM Ltd’s competitors included a host of IP processor companies such as MIPS, ARC and Tensilica but the field of serious processor competition has dramatically narrowed to, ARM vs. Intel Corp. ARM has also substantially expanded its processor core design sockets—both to high-end and low-end markets. On one hand, the company has bravely marched into the multicore future, and has relentlessly rolled out a series of Mali graphics processor units and video engines.
On the other hand, ARM this year made a genuinely strong foray into the microcontroller market. ARM took the first step by offering initial seed funding to Luminary Micro. Then earlier this year, Texas Instruments—by acquiring Luminary Micro—turned ARM into a household name in the microcontroller market.
