Should ARM care about MIPS acquisition by Imagination Technologies?

By SemiWiki

November 6, 2012

It was not really a surprise to learn that, finally, MIPS have been sold, as the company was officially for sale since April 2012. Nevertheless, the interesting part of this news comes from the buyer’ identity: Imagination Technologies. Imagination is an UK based company, like ARM, selling processor IP cores, like ARM, but the (huge) difference was coming from their port-folio: Imagination only sales Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) IP cores, when ARM sell both CPU (the Cortex family) and GPU (MALI family), as well as Libraries and some Interface IP like DDRn Controller. Should we mention that ARM CPU IP cores are ultra-dominant in the mobile application like smartphone, media tablet, and any kind of wireless phone? I have heard about ONE design-in of MIPS CPU IP in this mobile multi segments, one out of hundreds. On the other hand, Imagination has seen a very good penetration of the PowerVR family of GPU in these mobile segments, even if MALI GPU IP had significantly increase penetration in 2011, but not at the level of PowerVR GPU IP.

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