back to article Softbank gros fromage: ARM will knock out a trillion IoT chips by 2040

Japanese mega-corp Softbank expects its processor-designer subsidiary ARM to fire out a trillion chips for the Internet of Things over the next two decades, its CEO told Mobile World Congress. Masayoshi Son also laid emphasis on the growth of smart devices and thus the need for chips in those devices, telling the Barcelona …

  1. Tom 7

    I really really want my shares back

    was I the only shareholder who could see this coming?

    1. User McUser
      Unhappy

      Re: I really really want my shares back

      I voted against the purchase, but alas my meager shares were insufficient to turn the tide.

    2. Eddy Ito

      Re: I really really want my shares back

      Why didn't you replace it with Softbank stock back in September? They're up about 18-20% since the ARM buy. I watched it for a bit but it largely dropped into November so I held off. Now wish I was smart enough to have bought that dip.

      1. Tom 7

        Re: I really really want my shares back

        I dont want Softbank. I wanted ARM - it will hold Softbank up for decades to come but it would have been so much better left to its own devices if you'll pardon the pun. I thought ARM would easily go up by 500% in a decade - I doubt Softbank will go up by 100% in that time even with ARM puffing them up.

  2. Stevie

    Bah!

    Soon all your chip fab machine tool are belong to lightbulb.

  3. Lennart Sorensen

    Which kind of billion are we talking? I thought they were pretty much doing that already each year, so unless we are talking the 10^12 type of billion, this doesn't seem like news. Certainly for the 10^9 type of billion, I believe they were at 12 billion in 2014 alone, and probably higher now, so a couple of decades at that rate with a bit of growth might very well hit the 10^12 type of billion (although that meaning seems uncommon in English these days from what I can tell).

    Reading the Reuters article in fact says Trillion, not Billion, which seems to clarify things.

    1. gazthejourno (Written by Reg staff)

      Oh bugger. Story updated.

      If you spot this sort of thing in future, please email corrections@theregister.co.uk. Gets to the duty editor far faster than leaving a comment.

      1. Lennart Sorensen

        I did both. :)

  4. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "a trillion chips"

    And just how much security is baked into those chips ?

    None, of course. I'm sure excuses will be legion. Solutions, as usual, are a much rarer breed.

    1. Lennart Sorensen

      Re: "a trillion chips"

      Security is primarily a software problem.

      A lot of arm chips are designed to support signed code execution all the way from the initial boot process, so they do provide a lot of features that allow software to be done securely. Of course you still have to make bug free secure software on top of that, but not much arm can do about that problem.

    2. druck Silver badge

      Re: "a trillion chips"

      The TrustZone feature in ARM chips gives them excellent security, but no one is forcing the IOT manufactures to write software which uses it.

  5. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

    ARM won't produce the chips

    Unless they have suddenly acquired/build a mega Foundry that is?

    Perhaps it should be

    ARM will receive license revenues for a 'N' Billion chips etc etc etc.

    Just to give an example of one Company, Apple. They have over 1.5Billion iPhones and iPads and other devices in use on a daily basis. Samsung will certainly have even more.

    As for IOT thingies... At the moment, for most people these are an answer waiting for a question but... like 3-D TV it will be forced down our throats even if we don't want it.

  6. Mikel

    Doom for Wintel

    Not the videogame either. Well, they held off the future as long as they could - and made good money at it.

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