Government launches "investigation" into ARM acquisition

Interestingly, the objection seems to be based on potential national security implications.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proposed-acquisition-of-arm-limited-by-nvidia-corporation-public-interest-intervention

Fingers crossed.

Oh bollocks.

They saw nothing wrong with having ARM flogged off to the Japanese (and part of that going to the Chinese) when it was a great big flag-waving “Britain is open for business!” following the referendum result.

They saw nothing wrong with handing the entire Census to Lockheed Martin (which pretty much means the NSA has relevant up to date information on every British household).

I’d have been more worried about ARM going anywhere near the Chinese rather than anywhere near the Americans.

They’re just trying to find creative ways to attempt to claw back the British success story that they never should have permitted to be sold years ago, but were too busy waving their flags to care.

There’s a pile of bones on the ground over there. It’s the horse. It got out, got old, then died. No point attempting to close the stable door now.

Note: I would like to see ARM return to the UK and be a processor designer without commercial handicaps, favouritism, asset stripping, or any of the other sorts of things that might happen to it.
However, I feel that this is years too late, and a desperate last ditch attempt to be seen to be trying to do something without thinking too much about the potential consequences (you know, like Brexit). Good luck trying to explain to Biden that selling ARM to an American company is a national security issue…

There’s a difference between Softbank and Nvidia, in that the former’s just a holding company, whereas Nvidia is likely to fundamentally change the way in which ARM does business.

This is good news.

nVidia has some good technical plans for future ARM developments, but nothing they can’t do already with under the terms of their architecture license. The only reason to buy ARM is to exploit its licencing model and/or restrict competitors.

ARM would be far more successful if were independent UK company again, as if licencing is squeezed then people will quickly move to RISC V.

This is good news.

Possibly yes, financially it has to be seen however. But I still hope for an independent ARM…

ARM would be far more successful if were independent UK company again

True!

They saw nothing wrong with having ARM flogged off to the Japanese

Yup, T.May gave her blessing IIRC…

The issues now are far more complicated, it could be that the UK Gov has finally awaken OR that it’s just trying to hold onto ARM for other reasons, hard to say at the moment.

For years they’ve been asking “how come the UK doesn’t have any tech firms to compete with the US”, then someone pointed out we’d sold the one we had 5 years ago. ARM is a strategic asset, so majority control of the company should be kept with the UK.

<< Hovercraft, motorbicycles, cars, steel manufacture, ARM, …
>> Tories, Brexit, sleaze, …

Usable Jet Engine.
Electronic valve Computer.

You might want to check who was in power when Britain gave up the lead in those areas you mention, and many more.

so majority control of the company should be kept with the UK.

Which is a discussion that should have happened five (?) years ago.

who was in power when Britain gave up the lead

Anybody who needs to look it up is either a foreigner or a Tory. ;-)

Aside: Google keyboard highlighted “Foreigner” in the previous sentence. So I tapped just to see what context it decided.
I Want To Know What Love Is… Hehe, close but not quite.

Swing-wing aircraft (TSR2), maglev trains, the list goes on…