Arm Chips May Get Their Own Virtual RAN Boost

Arm Ltd., the Cambridge-based chip designer owned by Japan's SoftBank, may gain a stronger rival to Intel in virtual radio access networks (RAN) through a startup called Kenyi, founded by a Qualcomm executive. Arm's cores already appear in 5G products from Nokia, which uses Marvell Technology's Arm-based CPU for Layer 2 plus functions, but Kenyi could help Arm compete more directly in the demanding Layer 1 segment.

Arm Chips May Get Their Own Virtual RAN Boost With the help of Kenyi, a startup founded by a Qualcomm exec, Arm might finally be able to provide a much-desired rival to Intel in virtual RAN. A bright jewel in the corroding crown of British tech, Arm of Cambridge, as it might be introduced in aristocratic circles, generates most of its cash by licensing blueprints to the makers of smartphone chips. But the fastest-growing part of its business – now owned by Japan’s SoftBank but still headquartered in the UK – spans multiple other fields. Vehicles and robotics are just two listed in Arm's latest earnings release. AI, unsurprisingly, is a major target. Arm has also shouldered its way into the data center, where the x86 architecture of Intel and AMD previously reigned unchallenged. In a much-talked-about and controversial departure from its licensing roots, Arm started to make its own central processing units /data-center-chips/arm-enters-data-center-chip-fray-with-agi-cpu-for-ai-infrastructure CPUs this year. Yet in mobile networks, Arm has had less obvious success. Arm’s “cores,” the essential components of a chip, do feature in the 5G products sold by the likes of Nokia. The Finnish vendor has shifted from Intel to an Arm-based CPU made by Marvell Technology for what the industry calls “Layer 2 plus” – the parts of the radio access network RAN technology stack that require less heavy lifting. For Layer 1, which covers the more demanding functions, Marvell supplies a custom chip that also features some of Arm's technology. Keep reading this article in Light Reading, a Data Center Knowledge partner site http://ARM%20Chips%20May%20Get%20Their%20Own%20Virtual%20RAN%20Boost%20for%20Attack%20on%20Intel Read more about: Light Reading /keyword/light-reading