British semiconductor design firm Arm Ltd. today pitched a new licensing option without any upfront costs for startups and other smaller companies that want to build central processing units and systems-on-a-chip using its chip blueprints.

Intellectual property licensing isn’t the most exciting topic, but in an age when companies are increasingly looking at building their own silicon chips optimized for specific workloads, more flexibility will surely be appreciated.

Previously, the only option companies had to access Arm’s IP was to choose the designs they want to use, and pay to license them. That might do for bigger firms such as Apple Inc. that know exactly what they want, but it’s less convenient for smaller companies or startups that are unsure of which design is best.

It’s that kind of company Arm is trying to reel in with its Flexible Access model, in which customers pay a more modest fee to access a range of its products. There’s no obligation to pay for a full license either. Instead, customers will only pay for those designs they use in production, once they’ve been able to evaluate exactly what they need.

“Companies developing products from constrained single-core chips to full scale hybrid computing solutions must experiment at hyper-speed to find their magic recipe and get to market quickly – while still keeping a tight rein on costs,” Dipti Vachani, senior vice president and general manager of Arm’s Automotive & IoT business, wrote in a blog post. “This heady mix of commercial pressures adds up to developers facing a classic innovator’s dilemma: how to move ‘thoughtfully fast’ while maintaining a grip on quality, security and sanity.”

The Flexible Access portfolio covers the majority of Arm’s designs, including most its Cortex-A, -R and -M central processing units, as well as some of its Mali graphics processing units and its M33 microcontroller. However, it’s highest-end Cortex-A and Mali GPUs are notable exceptions.

Still, those designs that are covered in the portfolio should be just the ticket for the kinds of companies Arm is targeting. Its less-powerful chips are ideally suited for “internet of things” devices, for example. This is just one are where specialized processors for artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly being deployed, and where energy-efficiency is often a key requirement.

“This is a good program for smaller makers as they can try Arm’s IP before they buy,” said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst and president of Moor Insights & Strategy. “I believe this will generate more interest in Arm’s IP in IoT and could dent some of the RISC-V progress.”

Photo: Arm