Arm

Choosing the right route

• Silicon startups building a system-on-chip prototype should start with Arm Flexible Access for Startups.
• Developers building AI applications on Arm should look at Arm Create. It is not a startup intake.

How applications work

• Apply through Arm's programme registration page.
• The 2025 Silicon Startups Contest is closed. Earlier editions ran in 2024 and 2025.

How selection works

• Arm's application page lists a funding ceiling and a revenue ceiling as qualifying criteria.
• Its overview says companies above those ceilings can also benefit. Ask Arm which applies to you before you apply.

Check the fee terms

• Arm's FAQ page states thatthe Standard Tier has an annual access fee, and that startups get everything in that tier. The startup overview describes no-cost access.
• The application page shows no licence fee for prototype production. Arm's FAQ page states thatlicence fees, if any, fall due at manufacture.

Arm is a compute platform company. It supports early-stage silicon startups in two ways: Arm Flexible Access for Startups, which gives access to Arm's chip IP, tools, training and support, and the Arm Silicon Startups Contest, which gives technology credit to its winners. This page covers both, and the points where Arm's own pages disagree.

How programmes work

Arm Flexible Access for Startups is the standing programme. It helps early-stage startups develop a system-on-chip (SoC) prototype and experiment with Arm's IP and tools. Arm says licence fees are due only when a design goes to manufacture.

The Silicon Startups Contest is a competition, not an access programme. Its prize is technology credit that can go toward an Arm Flexible Access commercial tape-out, and the runner-up also receives credit. The 2025 contest has closed, and winners were announced in May 2025. An earlier edition, the Arm Flexible Access for Startups Contest 2024, named Agate Sensors as winner and SmartKosh Technologies as runner-up.

Arm also runs Arm Create, a developer programme of hands-on projects, live events and challenges. It is not a startup intake.

Who can apply

Arm's overview says the startup programme is designed for startups developing a silicon product. Its application page lists a funding ceiling and an annual revenue ceiling as qualifying criteria. The overview says companies above those thresholds can also benefit. Arm's pages do not name a country restriction for the startup programme.

What you get

Startups in the programme get access to a broad portfolio of verified Arm IP, tools, training and support. Arm's Standard Tier includes more than 80 CPU, GPU and system IP products.

Scale

Arm's startup page says around 70 startups are using Arm Flexible Access for Startups to produce their silicon designs. Its 2025 contest announcement says the programme has enabled more than 160 early-stage companies. Both figures are self-reported. They measure different things, so both are shown rather than merged.

Where Arm's pages disagree

Arm's pages give different answers on three points, and this page does not resolve them.

• Thresholds. The application page lists funding and revenue ceilings as qualifying criteria. The overview says companies above them can also benefit.
• Standard Tier fee. Arm's FAQ page states thatthe Standard Tier has an annual access fee, and that startups get everything in that tier. The startup overview describes no-cost access.
• Prototype licence fees. The application page shows no licence fee for producing prototypes. Arm's FAQ page states thatlicence fees, if any, become due when a design is ready for manufacture.

Check each point with Arm before you plan a budget or a design schedule.

Who runs it

Arm runs both programmes. The 2025 contest article describes Arm as a Strategic Partner and In-Kind Partner of Silicon Catalyst since 2020.