If BRN had the resources of Nvidia/ARM/Intel, Akida 3 SoC would be on the market now.If Akida 3 tape-out is in Q1 2026 and the FPGA is available in Q2 2026, then you'd have to think the most likely licence commitment window for Arm would be somewhere between Q2 2026 – Q4 2026.
If Arm is really interested, they'll probably negotiate NDAs, architectural access, and preliminary terms before tape-out so they can get priority access to the FPGA in Q2 2026, which would enable them to lock Akida 3 (into the Ethos successor roadmap, for example) without delaying their own silicon schedules IMO.
As I said, it could, for instance be combined with ARM Cortex M85 (the Ethos U85 processor), or any other compatible processor.
I guess there will be some internal resistance in ARM - we need to get Mr Son's ear.
PS: Assuming ARM do go ahead with their chip making plans.
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