Arm Holdings vs Honda: Founders, CEOs and History
Arm Holdings was founded in 1990 by Robin Saxby, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber and is led by Rene Haas. Honda was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda, Takeo Fujisawa and is led by Toshihiro Mibe.
Company facts
Arm Holdings
- Founded
- 1990
- Headquarters
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Current CEO
- Rene Haas
- Employees
- 9,584
Honda
- Founded
- 1948
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Current CEO
- Toshihiro Mibe
- Employees
- 195,109
Founders
Arm Holdings
Robin Saxby
The founding of Arm (Advanced RISC Machines) is a quintessentially British technology story, born out of a desperate need to build a more efficient computer processor.
Sophie Wilson
Sophie Wilson, along with Steve Furber, designed the original ARM processor at Acorn Computers in 1983 to 1985.
Steve Furber
Steve Furber served as the ARM processor's lead hardware designer at Acorn before the formation of Arm Ltd., but like Sophie Wilson did not join the new company directly.
Honda
Soichiro Honda
Soichiro Honda founded the company in 1946. Originally a mechanic who manufactured piston rings for Toyota, he realized that post-war Japan desperately needed cheap, reliable transportation.
Takeo Fujisawa
Takeo Fujisawa co-founded Honda in 1949, serving as the absolute perfect business counterpart to Soichiro Honda's engineering obsession.
CEOs and their tenures
Arm Holdings
- Robin Saxby1991–2001
Founding Chief Executive Officer
Robin Saxby was Arm's founding chief executive, recruited in 1991 to run the new joint venture from a converted barn at Swaffham Bulbeck near Cambridge with 12 engineers seconded from Acorn.
Source - Warren East2001–2013
Chief Executive Officer (Former)
Warren East ran Arm for twelve years from October 2001, the period in which the company became the default architecture for mobile computing.
Source - Simon Segars2013–2022
Chief Executive Officer (Former)
Simon Segars was chief executive for nine years from July 2013, overseeing SoftBank's 2016 acquisition, the attempted sale to Nvidia and the expansion of Arm's IoT strategy through the Treasure Data and Stream Technologies acquisitions, both of which were late…
Source - Rene Haas2022–present
Chief Executive Officer
Rene Haas became Arm's chief executive in February 2022, succeeding Simon Segars after nine years at Arm in engineering and commercial roles.
Source
Honda
- Takanobu Ito2009–2015
President and CEO
He introduced a plan to reorganise Honda global operations and handed the presidency to Takahiro Hachigo in 2015.
Source - Takahiro Hachigo2015–2021
Former President and CEO
Hachigo trimmed excess capacity and refocused Honda on hybrids, motorcycles and its core models, which improved profitability before the EV investment cycle began.
Source - Toshihiro Mibe2021–present
Director, President and Representative Executive Officer (CEO)
Mibe's tenure has been defined by the push into electrification and its costly reset. The EV charges produced Honda's first annual loss since listing, but the shift toward hybrids and motorcycles was followed by a record first-quarter profit in FY2027.
Source
Timeline: Arm Holdings and Honda side by side
1948Honda
Honda Motor Founded
Soichiro Honda establishes Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in Japan.
1959Honda
American Honda Opens
Honda enters the US market, initially building awareness through motorcycles.
1963Honda
Honda Enters Automobiles
Honda expands from motorcycles and engines into automobile production.
1972Honda
Civic Launch
The Civic becomes a defining global nameplate for Honda's fuel-efficient automobile strategy.
1985Arm Holdings
ARM1 Processor First Silicon
The first ARM processor, ARM1, reached silicon at Acorn Computers, designed by Sophie Wilson, who wrote the instruction set, and Steve Furber, who led the hardware.
1986Honda
Acquired Montesa
Honda Motor Co. acquired Montesa. Honda took control of the Spanish motorcycle maker Montesa, creating Montesa Honda to build trial and off-road motorcycles in Europe.
1986Honda
Acura Brand Launched
Honda launched the Acura luxury brand in the United States in 1986.
1990Arm Holdings
Arm Founded as an Acorn, Apple and VLSI Joint Venture
The company was incorporated in November 1990 as Widelogic Limited and renamed Advanced RISC Machines Limited on December 3, 1990, structured as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple Computer and VLSI Technology.
1993Arm Holdings
Apple Newton Ships with ARM610 and Arm Turns Profitable
Apple launched the Newton MessagePad, powered by an ARM610 processor, the first significant consumer product built on an ARM-based chip.
1998Arm Holdings
Dual Listing on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq
Arm floated on April 17, 1998, trading in London and New York on the same day after being priced at 575p a share by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Cazenove. The company was renamed ARM Holdings at the listing and joined the FTSE 100.
2000Honda
ASIMO Unveiled
Honda unveiled the ASIMO humanoid robot in 2000.
2001Arm Holdings
Warren East Becomes Chief Executive
Warren East was appointed chief executive in October 2001, succeeding Robin Saxby. Over the following twelve years Arm established the Cortex CPU and Mali GPU families and became the standard architecture for smartphones.
2004Arm Holdings
Artisan Components Acquired for $913 Million
Arm bought Artisan Components, a designer of physical IP such as standard cell libraries, memory compilers and input and output cells, extending Arm from processor designs into the foundry-specific building blocks needed to fabricate a chip.
2007Arm Holdings
iPhone Launch Accelerates Smartphone Royalty Growth
Apple launched the original iPhone with a Samsung-manufactured application processor built on an ARM11 core.
2013Arm Holdings
Simon Segars Succeeds Warren East as CEO
Arm announced in March 2013 that Warren East would retire and that president Simon Segars, who joined Arm in 1991 as one of its early engineers, would become chief executive from July 1, 2013.
2015Honda
Takahiro Hachigo becomes CEO
Takahiro Hachigo became CEO of Honda Motor Co. in 2015. Hachigo trimmed excess capacity and refocused Honda on hybrids, motorcycles and its core models, which improved profitability before the EV investment cycle began.
2016Arm Holdings
SoftBank Acquires Arm for ~$32.1 billion (24.3 Billion Pounds)
SoftBank Group agreed on July 18, 2016 to acquire Arm Holdings for 24.3 billion pounds, about $31.4 billion in cash, and completed the deal on September 5, 2016.
2020Arm Holdings
Nvidia Agrees to Buy Arm for $40 Billion
Nvidia announced an agreement to acquire Arm from SoftBank for about $40 billion in cash and stock.
2021Honda
Toshihiro Mibe Becomes CEO
Mibe becomes CEO as Honda increases focus on electrification, software, and new mobility.
2022Arm Holdings
Nvidia Deal Collapses and Rene Haas Becomes CEO
Nvidia and SoftBank terminated the acquisition in February 2022 after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block it, the UK Competition and Markets Authority recommended against it and EU regulators opened a Phase II review.
2023Arm Holdings
Nasdaq IPO Prices at $51 and Raises $4.87 Billion
Arm listed on Nasdaq on September 14, 2023 under the ticker ARM, pricing American depositary shares at $51 and raising about $4.87 billion at a valuation of roughly $54.5 billion. It was the largest U.S.
2024Arm Holdings
Fiscal 2024 Revenue Reaches $3.23 Billion
Arm reported fiscal 2024 revenue of $3,233 million, up 21%, made up of $1,802 million of royalty revenue and $1,431 million of license and other revenue, with net income of $306 million.
2025Arm Holdings
Artisan Foundation IP Business Sold to Cadence
Arm completed the sale of its Artisan foundation IP business, the standard cell libraries, memory compilers and general-purpose input and output blocks it had built up since the 2004 Artisan acquisition, to Cadence Design Systems on August 26, 2025 under an ag…
2025Arm Holdings
Lumex Client Platform Launched for On-Device AI
In September 2025 Arm launched Lumex, its compute subsystem platform for flagship smartphones and next-generation PCs, pairing C1 CPUs and G1 GPUs with Scalable Matrix Extension version 2 for on-device AI.
2025Arm Holdings
Fiscal 2025 Revenue Passes $4 Billion
Arm reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $4,007 million, up 24%, with royalty revenue of $2,168 million and license and other revenue of $1,839 million, and net income of $792 million.
2026Arm Holdings
Arm Launches the AGI CPU, Its First Production Silicon
At the Arm Everywhere event in San Francisco on March 24, 2026, Arm introduced the Arm AGI CPU, the first chip it designed and sells as finished silicon rather than licensable IP.
2026Arm Holdings
Fiscal 2026 Revenue Reaches $4.92 Billion
Arm reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $4,920 million, up 23% and a third consecutive year of growth above 20% since the IPO, with royalty revenue of $2,613 million, license and other revenue of $2,307 million and net income of $904 million.
2026Honda
FY2026 Loss and EV Reset
Honda reports ~$146 billion (JPY 21.797 trillion) in sales revenue and a ~$2.84 billion (JPY 423.9 billion) loss attributable to owners after EV write-downs, then posts a record ~$3.56 billion (JPY 530.7 billion) Q1 FY2027 operating profit in August.
Acquisitions
Arm Holdings
- Treasure Data2018$600M
- Stream Technologies2018Undisclosed
- Apical2016$350M
- Artisan Components2004$913M
Questions about Arm Holdings vs Honda
Who is the CEO of Arm Holdings and Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?
Arm Holdings is led by Rene Haas and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is led by Toshihiro Mibe. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Arm Holdings founded vs Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. was founded in 1948 — 42 years before Arm Holdings, which was founded in 1990. Honda Motor Co., Ltd.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Arm Holdings.
How many employees does Arm Holdings have compared to Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?
Arm Holdings employs approximately 9,584 people, while Honda Motor Co., Ltd. employs approximately 195,109. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has the larger workforce at 195,109 employees, compared to Arm Holdings's 9,584. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Arm Holdings and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. headquartered?
Arm Holdings is headquartered in United Kingdom and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Japan. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Arm Holdings and Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?
Arm Holdings was founded by Robin Saxby, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. was founded by Soichiro Honda, Takeo Fujisawa.
Which company has a longer operating history — Arm Holdings or Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has been operating for approximately 78 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Arm Holdings has been in operation for around 36 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Arm Holdings vs Honda overview