Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) said it aims to capture more than 50% of the Windows PC market within five years, as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and its hardware partners gear up to launch a new line of computers based on Arm's technology.
Shares in the chipmaker rose 4% ahead of Monday’s market open.
The demand for Arm's technology in personal computers has surged following Microsoft's announcement last month of plans to introduce a new generation of PCs featuring AI capabilities, aiming to compete with Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The flagship Windows operating system will now run on chips designed by Arm, whose technology has been pivotal in the rise of smartphones. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has long dominated the PC industry, but if Arm's initiative succeeds, it could significantly reshape the market.
"Arm's market share in Windows - I think, truly, in the next five years, it could be better than 50%," Arm CEO Rene Haas told Reuters.
Microsoft is heavily investing in this transition, developing a suite of software tools to ensure that programs can run smoothly on Arm-based chips, offering a compelling alternative to the x86 technology from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Intel.
"They've (Microsoft) gone way beyond anything they had (in developer tools) and they really picked it up in the last couple of years," Haas said. "They are very, very much committed from a software standpoint."
Following Apple's successful adoption of Arm's designs in its "M Series" processors, known for their long battery life and fast performance, Microsoft and hardware vendors are keen to replicate this success in the Windows PC market.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) has introduced the first Arm-based chip for Windows PCs, with more vendors expected to follow, according to Arm's CEO. Moreover, device manufacturers like Asus and Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) are set to launch machines equipped with Arm-based systems.