SFTBY - Intel's potential SiFive acquisition could ward off Arm threat says BofA

JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Intel (INTC) is circling a more than $2B acquisition of semiconductor designer SiFive.  BofA analyst Vivek Arya sees the potential acquisition as a way for Intel to "go on the offensive" versus SoftBank's ([[SFTBF]],[[SFTBY]]) Arm chip unit in the traditional RISC-V/Arm embedded markets. Intel could also thwart "potential share loses to Arm in the data center." Arya notes that the RISC-V architecture hasn't had much success in Intel's core markets, but SiFive has been "aggressively going after the data center market and just taped out an SoC for advanced AI/HPC on TSMC 5nm – a chip that would appear to be addressing the same market as NVDA’s recently announced Grace Arm-based CPU." Nvidia is currently seeking regulatory approval for its proposed $40B acquisition of Arm. Related: Intel facing PC, semiconductor red flags ahead, says Citi

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Intel's potential SiFive acquisition could ward off Arm threat, says BofA