> isn't it still possible for them to design their own cores?
Most companies license the cores, so they can build ARM-designed cores and integrate those into an SoC.
In order to design your own core, you need to license the ISA itself, and that’s a wholly different kettle of fishes: there are only about a dozen architectural licensees, and not all of them license both 32 and 64b ISAs.
Most companies license the cores, so they can build ARM-designed cores and integrate those into an SoC.
In order to design your own core, you need to license the ISA itself, and that’s a wholly different kettle of fishes: there are only about a dozen architectural licensees, and not all of them license both 32 and 64b ISAs.