Arm Flexible Access Gives Chip Designers the Freedom to Experiment and Test Before They Invest

​Arm announced today it is expanding the ways existing and new partners can access and license its technology for semiconductor design. Arm Flexible Access is a new engagement model enabling SoC design teams to initiate projects before they license IP and pay only for what they use at production. Through Arm Flexible Access, businesses will enable their design teams with more freedom to experiment, evaluate and innovate.

“Arm Flexible Access was created to address the opportunities presented by a world of one trillion securely connected devices,” said Rene Haas, president, Intellectual Property Group, Arm. “By converging unlimited design access with no up-front licensing commitment, we are empowering existing partners and new market players to address new growth opportunities in IoT, machine learning, self-driving cars and 5G.”

Several partners, including AlphaICs, Invecas and Nordic Semiconductor, have signed on to this new Arm engagement model and already have access to a wide range of IP products, support tools and training. Arm Flexible Access complements standard Arm licensing which will continue to be the best option for partners seeking access to Arm’s full product portfolio and most advanced IP. A detailed comparison of the latest Arm engagement models can be found here.

Typically, partners license individual components from Arm and pay a license fee upfront before they can access the technology. With Arm Flexible Access they pay a modest fee for immediate access to a broad portfolio of technology, then paying a license fee only when they commit to manufacturing, followed by royalties for each unit shipped. This portfolio includes all the essential Intellectual Property (IP) and tools needed for an SoC design, making it easier to evaluate or prototype with multiple IP blocks before committing to licenses.

IP available through Arm Flexible Access includes the majority of Arm-based processors within the Arm® Cortex®-A, -R and -M families. These CPUs accounted for 75 percent of all Cortex CPU licenses signed over the last two years. It also includes Arm TrustZone and CryptoCell security IP, select Mali GPUs, system IP alongside tools and models for SoC design and early software development. Access to Arm’s global support and training services are also included.

A full list of the Arm IP available through Arm Flexible Access can be found here.

You can read more about Arm Flexible Access in this blog from Dipti Vachani, senior vice president and general manager of Arm’s automotive and IoT business.

Partner quotes:
“Nordic’s range of advanced wireless products has expanded significantly in recent years in line with the rapid pace of innovation and new standards. With diverse markets and a broad line of products we need the ability to select exactly the right foundational processor, security technology and other important features for every project. Freely selecting what we need and then paying only for what we use through Arm Flexible Access will enable us to deliver the right solution every time. “
Trond Sæther, Director IPR, Nordic Semiconductor

“INVECAS works with an incredibly diverse set of customers from across the globe – Arm Flexible Access will help us meet the needs of those customers by combining proven Arm processor & system IP with our own silicon proven Interface IP and develop the optimal ASIC Design Solution for our customers.”
Mr. Dasaradha R. Gude, CEO, Invecas

"We are working on several products to address AI use cases in automotive, IoT gateways and edge computing. For this, we need access to a wide range of IP and the ability to rapidly evaluate, prototype and design. Arm’s Flexible Access model gives us that agile approach to IP for the first time."
Nagendra Nagaraja, CEO, AlphaICs

"The rapidly progressing Artificial Intelligence space requires our team to stay ahead of our customer’s needs. Arm Flexible Access enables us to incorporate the right Arm CPU in Quadric’s Edge SOC to deliver real-time computing on edge devices. We are excited to be an early adopter."
Veerbhan Kheterpal, CEO & Cofounder, Quadric.io.

“As a leading ASIC supplier our customers are demanding a wider range of innovative solutions in increasingly shorter timeframes, driven by emerging trends such as automotive and industrial IoT. In a competitive landscape, we need to deliver these solutions as quickly as possible, and Arm Flexible Access offers clear, transparent pricing where we only pay for what we use, enabling us to meet this demand.”
Mr. Gen Sasaki, Officer and Senior General Manager, Megachips