Arm Holdings Hires Amazon AI Expert to Lead New Chip Development Push

Arm Holdings, a major player in chip design, has brought on Rami Sinno, a top AI chip expert from Amazon, to head its bold new effort to create its own complete chips. This is a big change for Arm, which has long focused on licensing its chip designs to companies like Apple and Nvidia.

Now, the company is gearing up to compete in the chip-making world itself, according to someone familiar with the decision.

Sinno was a key figure at Amazon, where he helped develop the Trainium and Inferentia chips used for AI tasks. These chips were built to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in the AI processor market by offering high performance at a lower cost. His experience makes him a perfect fit for Arm’s new goal of designing and building its own chips from the ground up.

• Arm Hires Amazon AI Chip Leader Rami Sinno to Drive In-House Chipmaking
• SoftBank-Owned Arm Taps Amazon Expert for Bold AI Chip Development Push
• Arm Breaks from Licensing Model, Moves Into Full Chip Design with Amazon Hire

Arm, largely owned by SoftBank Group, has been laying the foundation for this shift. In July, CEO Rene Haas shared plans to use the company’s profits to invest in creating chips and chiplets—smaller, customizable chip components that can be combined to make full processors. To support this, Arm has also hired other industry experts, like Nicolas Dube from HPE and Steve Halter from Intel and Qualcomm, to boost its chip-making expertise.

This move could shake up the chip industry. Arm has long been a neutral partner, providing the tech behind nearly every smartphone and gaining ground in data centers, where AMD and Intel dominate. But making its own chips might put Arm in direct competition with its customers, like Nvidia, which could strain those relationships.

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The decision comes at a time when demand for AI-powered tech is soaring, but global trade tensions, including U.S. tariffs on semiconductors, are creating challenges. Arm’s stock dropped 8% recently after a cautious forecast, showing investor worries about these hurdles. With Sinno’s expertise, Arm hopes to navigate this tricky landscape and deliver cutting-edge, AI-ready chips to meet the industry’s growing demands.