Arm Holdings vs Intel: Founders, CEOs and History
Arm Holdings was founded in 1990 by Robin Saxby, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber and is led by Rene Haas. Intel was founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore and is led by Lip-Bu Tan.
Company facts
Arm Holdings
- Founded
- 1990
- Headquarters
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Current CEO
- Rene Haas
- Employees
- 9,584
Intel
- Founded
- 1968
- Headquarters
- Santa Clara, California
- Current CEO
- Lip-Bu Tan
- Employees
- 85,100
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.
Intel
Robert Noyce
Intel possesses the most well-known founding story in the entire history of Silicon Valley, famously founded by the effective, rebellious engineers who essentially invented the fundamental architecture of the modern digital world.
Gordon Moore
Gordon Moore co-founded Intel and served as a key technical leader, CEO, and chairman during the company's formative decades. His most important contribution was turning transistor scaling into a corporate operating philosophy.
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
Intel
- Andy Grove1987–1998
CEO
Grove turned Intel into the dominant PC processor supplier; revenue grew from about $1.9B in 1987 to over $26B in 1998. His book 'Only the Paranoid Survive' became a management classic.
Source - Pat Gelsinger2021–2024
CEO
Gelsinger rebuilt Intel's process roadmap toward 18A, but capital spending outpaced revenue. After a $18.8B net loss in 2024 and a dividend suspension, the board pushed him out in December 2024.
Source - Lip-Bu Tan2025–present
Chief Executive Officer
Tan reframed Intel around customer commitments and cost discipline rather than building capacity ahead of demand. By Q2 2026 Intel had beaten guidance for several straight quarters and posted its fastest revenue growth in more than 15 years.
Source
Timeline: Arm Holdings and Intel side by side
1968Intel
Intel Founded
Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore founded Intel.
1971Intel
4004 Microprocessor
Intel introduced the 4004, one of the first commercial microprocessors.
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.
1985Intel
386 Processor
Intel strengthened the x86 franchise that later dominated PCs.
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.
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.
2006Intel
Core Architecture
Intel revived product leadership with the Core architecture.
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.
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.
2021Intel
IDM 2.0 Announced
Intel announced a strategy to expand manufacturing and foundry capabilities.
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.
2025Intel
Lip-Bu Tan Becomes CEO
Lip-Bu Tan became CEO and reset the turnaround agenda around execution, cost, and focus.
2025Intel
$52.853B Revenue
Intel reported $52.853B in revenue and a $267M net loss attributable to Intel.
2025Intel
U.S. Government Takes 9.9% Stake
The U.S. government bought 433.3 million Intel shares at $20.47 for $8.9 billion, becoming the largest shareholder.
2025Intel
Nvidia Invests $5 Billion
Nvidia agreed to invest $5 billion in Intel and co-develop x86 PC and data-center products.
2025Intel
Altera Majority Sold
Intel closed the sale of 51% of Altera to Silver Lake on September 12, 2025.
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.
2026Intel
Q2 Revenue Up 25%
Intel reported $16.1 billion in Q2 2026 revenue, its fastest growth in more than 15 years.
Acquisitions
Arm Holdings
- Treasure Data2018$600M
- Stream Technologies2018Undisclosed
- Apical2016$350M
- Artisan Components2004$913M
Intel
- Moovit2020$900M
- Habana Labs2019$2B
- Mobileye2017$15.3B
- Altera2015$16.7B
- McAfee2011$7.7B
Questions about Arm Holdings vs Intel
Who is the CEO of Arm Holdings and Intel Corporation?
Arm Holdings is led by Rene Haas and Intel Corporation is led by Lip-Bu Tan. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Arm Holdings founded vs Intel Corporation?
Intel Corporation was founded in 1968 — 22 years before Arm Holdings, which was founded in 1990. Intel Corporation'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 Intel Corporation?
Arm Holdings employs approximately 9,584 people, while Intel Corporation employs approximately 85,100. Intel Corporation has the larger workforce at 85,100 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 Intel Corporation headquartered?
Arm Holdings is headquartered in United Kingdom and Intel Corporation is headquartered in United States. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Arm Holdings and Intel Corporation?
Arm Holdings was founded by Robin Saxby, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber. Intel Corporation was founded by Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore.
Which company has a longer operating history — Arm Holdings or Intel Corporation?
Intel Corporation has been operating for approximately 58 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 Intel overview