Injecting Silicon Valley Risk Appetite

Rene Haas is CEO of Arm Holdings, the British chip designer at the heart of the global AI race and the previous smartphone revolution. Haas explains to Wilf in plain English where Arm sits in the semiconductor value chain, why its CPU designs power virtually every tech device on the planet, and how its partnerships with giants like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and OpenAI are shaping the next decade of computing.

They discuss Arm’s evolution from a low‑power chip design for the Apple Newton to becoming the “brain” inside billions of smartphones, to powering the data centres that are driving the AI revolution. He reflects on the company’s surging revenues as AI workloads explode, and as its revenue model evolves, including the possibility of whether Arm should move closer to full chip design in its own right. Haas also tackles big strategic themes: data centres versus AI-at-the-edge, the “valuation bubble” and “overinvestment bubble” that exists in the short term, but why mega-cap tech names like Apple, Nvidia, Google Microsoft and Amazon will still thrive – scale. Haas also assesses the respective advantages China and the US have over each other from energy to talent to execution.

Haas offers a candid take on Britain’s strengths and shortcomings as a tech hub, what it would take to build the next hyperscaler here, and why risk appetite and scale still lag the US and China. He closes with career advice for young people on how to future‑proof themselves in an AI‑driven economy, the skills Arm hires for, and why curiosity and embracing AI will matter more than any single qualification.

You can watch the full video on The Master Investor Podcast YouTube channel

And follow @WilfredFrost on X and Linked In

Sponsored by BNY Investments, Interactive Brokers - ibkr.com/masterinvestor and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). 

The Master Investor Podcast is produced by Paradine Productions, Master Investor Ltd in association with Bird Lime Media.

This podcast is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in any investment activity. It is not a financial promotion as defined under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The views expressed by the presenter of this podcast are those of the presenter and are provided in the course of journalism. This podcast benefits from the exemption under Article 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO), It does not require approval by a person authorised under the FSMA. Generic information, not identifying any specific investment, fund, provider or service, about a class of investments such as shares, bonds, derivatives and cryptoassets, might be provided and/or discussed during this podcast. Such discussion falls within the generic promotions exemption (Article 17 of the FPO). Such discussion is not a financial promotion requiring approval by an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA. Investing involves risk. You should consult a suitably qualified adviser who can assess your individual circumstances before making any investment decision.