John Bruggeman of Cadence and Simon Segars of ARM just hosted a pretty awesome fireside chat at the ARM Techcon (full length video of which I will link to here once it is up). discussing areas in which ARM industry should cooperate more and where they can differentiate themselves and push the technology forward faster. Cadence is an EDA provider which means they provide software tools for designers of ARM Processors. The fireside chat includes discussions on standardization of Linux on ARM, supporting drivers, implementing security at the hardware level (see my video of ARM TrustZone), and how John Bruggeman thinks competing EDA providers should agree on how to collaborate on certain areas to focus on competing on others and bring the industry forward faster. Cost of designing a new ARM Processor should be cut by a factor of 5 he says if these industry players could figure out to better collaborate on the core tools. The goal is for companies that provide solutions and tools that enable always cheaper ARM Powered devices to consumers, that cost to build basic things should be built collaboratively so suppliers can save money on basic stuff and focus on differentiation. $100 Android phones and $400 HDTVs should still allow device makers and the industry that supports the creation of these tools to make a profit. In a constantly disruptive industry with cheaper and cheaper ARM Powered devices, but at the same time with more and more complicated, more advanced, soon reaching Nanotechnology scales ARM Powered devices, it is interesting to imagine how all these companies plan to continue to make a profit.