ARM's relationship with Embest began in 2004, when Embest became an ARM-approved training center. More recently, ARM and Embest in May completed joint development work on a Chinese version of the
ARM RealView MDK. Embest also became ARM's official tools distributor this spring, offering the ARM MDK for as little as 5,000 Chinese RMB (approx. $660) to Chinese customers, ARM said.
ARM said its investment in Embest demonstrates its commitment to the Chinese embedded system community. Dr. Jun Tan, president of ARM, China, stated, "China is now one of the most important markets in the world for ARM."
Tan added, "ARM has been working with many local Partners such as Embest to establish a comprehensive ecosystem which can provide complete local supply and support to the Chinese embedded system industry. This first-ever joint venture is another milestone for ARM after five years of operation in this market."
Liu Chi, GM at Embest, stated, "This joint venture investment will enable us to deepen our access to ARM technologies and design expertise. This will further enrich our offerings to Chinese customers and help them better use our services."
Besides developing and distributing embedded development tools, Embest sells several dozen different single-board computers (SBCs) and processor modules, typically including board support packages (BSPs) for Windows CE. Recently released SBCs include the
NK9315, the
SBC-2440-II, the
SBC-2410-II, and the
PXA270DB.
China became the world's
third-largest chip designer in 2005. It is currently the second-largest consumer of semiconductors, but is projected to surpass the U.S. in chip consumption in 2008, according to a
Frost and Sullivan study.
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