ARC INTERNATIONAL

'ARC International' plc (traded on the London Stock Exchange, under ticker symbol ARK) is the developer of configurable processor technology. ARC licenses configurable CPU/DSP processors and multimedia subsystems.

The roots of ARC International date back to the early 1990s. Originally Argonaut RISC Core, it was a hardware design division of Argonaut Software, which designed a configurable microprocessor core for use in embedded applications. One of the first uses was in 1993 for the Super FX chip used in Super Nintendo video games. It was spun-off as a separate company in 1998. As part of Argonaut, a software provider to game companies, the design team developed customized microprocessors. The technology to create customized designs evolved into the ARChitect™ configurator tool.

ARC's products are used by ~140 customers that collectively ship about 200 million ARC-Based chips every year to embedded markets. ARC International employs approximately 130 people in research and development, sales and marketing offices across North America, Europe and Asia.

The firm has two main lines of products: configurable processors (e.g. the ARC 600 and ARC 700 families) and media subsystems. The processors are described as configurable. What this means in reality is that not only can they have certain aspects "configured" in and out, for example an MMU, or a complex multiplier, but also that they can be extended. Extended means that they can have custom instructions, registers and condition codes added which will then form part of the basic ISA for the extended processor. The media subsystems cover audio and video applications.

White Papers on Configurability

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