Spectacular Debut... Masayoshi Son: "ARM, the Biggest Beneficiary of the AI Revolution" (Comprehensive)

UK Semiconductor Design Specialist ARM
Surges 25% on Nasdaq Debut Day

ARM, a subsidiary of Japan's SoftBank led by Chairman Masayoshi Son, made a spectacular debut on the US Nasdaq, with Son expressing confidence that ARM will be the biggest beneficiary of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

On the 14th (local time), British semiconductor design specialist ARM closed its first day on the Nasdaq at $63.59, soaring 24.69% above its IPO price. ARM's IPO price was set at the top end of the expected range ($47?51), but trading began at $56.10, 10% higher. Buying momentum continued throughout the day, driving the price sharply upward.

On the 14th (local time), Rene Haas, CEO of ARM, a British semiconductor design company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York, rang the opening bell to mark the start of trading. ARM, considered the biggest IPO in the U.S. stock market this year, closed its first day at $63.59 per share, up 24.7% from the offering price of $51. New York=Reuters Yonhap News

ARM's market capitalization exceeded $65.2 billion (approximately 86.64 trillion KRW) based on the closing price that day. This valuation far surpasses that of Rivian, the US electric vehicle company that went public in 2021 with a first-day market cap of $13.7 billion. Prior to the IPO, the market expected ARM's market cap to be around $45?50 billion. When SoftBank purchased a 25% stake in ARM through its Vision Fund, the valuation was set at $64 billion.

As AI emerges as a new growth sector, investment demand surged for ARM, which holds a dominant position in the semiconductor design market, leading to its successful debut. ARM possesses core technologies in semiconductor design that serve as the "brain" of IT devices such as PC central processing units (CPUs) and smartphone application processors (APs). Most mobile APs produced by Samsung Electronics, Apple, and Qualcomm use ARM's basic design architecture.

The US financial news outlet CNBC reported, "ARM's IPO could mark the end of the two-year drought in technology company public offerings."

Before the listing, Chairman Son told CNBC in an interview, "Humans have been the smartest creatures on Earth, but AI will surpass and continue to surpass us." He described himself as "a great believer in AI" and confidently stated, "ARM will be a core beneficiary of the AI revolution."

Son also weighed in on the ongoing discussions about AI regulation. While acknowledging that AI can help solve human problems such as disease treatment and mitigating natural disaster risks, he warned that misuse?like speeding or drunk driving?could pose a significant threat to humanity. He added, "We need to establish social regulatory mechanisms to protect humanity from the potential misuse of AI."

SoftBank, which owns all of ARM's shares, sold about 10% of its stake in this IPO. The funds raised from the listing amounted to approximately $5 billion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.