Overview
- People familiar with the matter say the US Federal Trade Commission has opened a confidential antitrust investigation into Arm’s licensing of its processor technology.
- Investigators are examining whether Arm could deny or worsen access to CPU blueprints for customers while it develops its own chips, according to the reporting.
- Arm was notified earlier this year and told to preserve documents, while the FTC declined to comment on the pending inquiry.
- Arm called Qualcomm’s related allegations of anti-competitive conduct baseless, framing them as leverage in an ongoing commercial dispute.
- The US inquiry adds to pressure from abroad, including a 2024 Qualcomm complaint to EU regulators and 2025 inspections by South Korea’s antitrust authority, and follows Arm’s March plan to start designing its own processors.