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Samsung cautiously eyes pre-IPO investment in Arm
Samsung is taking a conservative approach to an equity purchase in Arm due to its perceived overvaluation and regulatory risks. Koreajoongangdaily reports that the company is approaching the prospect of a pre-IPO investment in the British chip designer with careful consideration.
The South Korean tech giant is wary of potential risks and uncertainties associated with this investment opportunity. Since Arm preps for its initial public offering (IPO), the approach of Samsung reflects a cautious stance to ensure a well-informed decision.
“We are evaluating the issue, but no decision has been made yet,” an executive at Samsung Electronics said.
Arm has been a difficult proposition because its designs for application processors are so widely used, and it is a risk for it to be monopolized, especially by a company that competes with Arm’s clients. Arm is seeking to raise up to $10 billion through the blockbuster listing.
Winning big institutional investors before the listing is critical for Arm to rally the stock and support a higher valuation. The highly-anticipated listing comes as Samsung is unloading its key securities assets in an effort to secure cash amid dwindling profit due to the market downturn in the chip industry.
Earlier, Samsung sold more than half of its shares in ASML, raising about 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion). The 3 trillion won secured from the selloff is expected to be invested in facilities in contract chip manufacturing lines in Pyeongtaek and Taylor, Texas.
Samsung is partnering with Sapphire to power smart homes through SmartThings in the US. The company officially announced its collaboration with Sapphire Connected Communities.
The collaboration with Samsung will allow Sapphire to offer apartment residents a familiar and feature-rich experience through the SmartThings app.
The upgraded platform will also ensure the delivery of an integrated management solution for property managers that improves operating efficiency across an entire portfolio of properties.
“Together, SmartThings and Sapphire will redefine the apartment living experience,” said Mark Benson, Head of SmartThings US.
Sapphire Connected Communities is an enterprise software company that has built the first multifamily smart apartment solution on the SmartThings Pro B2B development platform.
Sapphire is the first Multifamily Residential solution to leverage Samsung’s SmartThings Pro. It enables the platform to offer multifamily customers a standards-based, integrated solution.
The company vows to provide a platform that not only enhances the resident experience but is more cost-effective, providing users with a return on their investment in tech they will use daily.
“Our partnership with SmartThings represents a significant milestone in delivering a cost-effective, reliable smart apartment solution,” said Eric DeJesus, Director of Operations at Sapphire.
News
OnePlus joins Android 15 race with OxygenOS 15 announcement; Samsung lagging due to delay in One UI 7
Samsung and OnePlus, two companies in the Android ecosystem, are taking different approaches with their Android 15 update rollout plans, and tech fans are talking about it.
OnePlus has officially confirmed, via an announcement on its social media account and its community forum, that the Android 15-based OxygenOS 15 beta program is coming on October 24th, 2024. The upcoming OxygenOS update will probably bring a refreshed design inspired by iOS, featuring fresh lock screen customization choices and an updated UI.
Devices like the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus Open will be first in line to get the OxygenOS 15 update by mid or late November, with other models following soon after.
With the OxygenOS 15 announcement, OnePlus now joins other leading manufacturers in rolling out Android 15. The smartphone companies like Google, Vivo, Motorola, Nothing, and ROG have already started the stable or beta rollout.
However, Samsung, a key contributor to the Android OS ecosystem, has delayed the One UI 7.0 beta program, causing it to lag in its update schedule. This delay has upset the Samsung Galaxy users waiting for Android 15, as Samsung is taking time to ensure the OS stability rather than rushing updates.
While Samsung hasn’t rushed to release a beta or full update like OnePlus, the company is expected to bring significant visual and functional changes.
As per official information, the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 stable update won’t be available until 2025. The company is going to bring the stable full-featured One UI 7 with the Galaxy S25 series next year.
Samsung developed the 24Gb GDDR7 DRAM for AI and next-gen GPU. The company’s advanced GDDR7 memory chipset introduces faster speed and enhanced power efficiency to become an optimum solution for next-generation applications.
The South Korean tech giant also announced that the validation for the 24Gb GDDR7 in next-generation AI computing systems from major GPU customers will begin this year, with plans for commercialization early next year.
24Gb GDDR7
Thanks to high capacity and powerful performance, Samsung’s latest memory chip will be widely utilized in various fields. It’s a pretty big induction in fields that require high-performance memory solutions, such as data centers and AI workstations.
Beyond that, the GDDR7 will also be utilized beyond the traditional applications of graphics DRAM in graphics cards, gaming consoles and autonomous driving. It minimizes current leakage by using power gating design tech to boost operational stability.
Samsung claims that the GDDR7 achieved industry-leading speed for graphics DRAM of 40 Gbps, a whopping 25% boost over its predecessor. The performances can also be enhanced to up to 42.5Gbps, depending on the usage environment.
The company has also expanded mobile SoC-inspired methods such as clock control management and dual VDD design. It’s aimed at reducing unnecessary power consumption, improving power efficiency by over 30%.