The firm announced it had filed papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposing an initial public offering (IPO). The valuation of Arm is unsettled, with Bloomberg reporting investment banks pitching anywhere between roughly £24bn and £55bn.

Despite the valuation being unclear due to the collapse of other technology stocks, Arm is expecting to raise up to £8 billion in a Nasdaq index float. 

UK ministers were remiss not to list Arm in the London Stock exchange. In January, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with representatives from Arm, and its owner Japanese investor SoftBank (SBG), to persuade an IPO in the London Stock Exchange. 

Arm was a member of London’s FTSE 100 index up until it was bought out by SBG in 2016 for £23.4bn. Since then three prime ministers have lobbied for a return to London, during a time of political turmoil. 

Arm designs processors, known as chips, that are embedded within 95% of the world’s smartphones. The microchip industry is seen widely as one of tech’s most valuable sectors, as its use extends from smartphones to powering infrastructure for national security, and enables applications like AI, 5G, and virtual reality. 

Part of its value comes from its volatility, since 90% of the most advanced microchips are manufactured by a single company in Taiwan. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) , the largest producer of microchips in the world, uses designs from Arm for its products, which is why Arm is known colloquially as the “crown jewel” of the UK’s tech sector. 

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Arm is pushing ahead with its New York listing despite the difficult conditions in global financial markets. In the US alone, IPOs in 2023 are down 22% on the previous year according to figures from Dealogic. 

Following the IPO, SBG will retain a majority holding in ARM, according to a press release. “SBG intends that Arm will continue to be a consolidated subsidiary of SBG following the completion of the proposed initial public offering. SBG does not expect that any such offering would have a material effect on its consolidated results or financial position,” it said.