After conquering the smartphone market, Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) has its sights set on PCs. The company collects royalties and licensing fees from chip designers using its IP, and the pricier the end product, the more money it tends to make. With more than 240 million PCs shipping last year, the PC market represents a lucrative opportunity.

Arm has already won over . Apple made the switch from standard PC central processing units (CPUs) based on the dominant x86 architecture to custom Arm-based CPUs for its Mac computers a few years ago, a move that allowed the tech giant to unlock new levels of performance and efficiency. A software emulation layer was required to ensure that older Mac applications worked on the new systems, and the transition has largely been a smooth one.

With Apple hooked on Arm, the company is now turning to Windows PCs. Microsoft and Qualcomm are using the AI boom to pitch a new type of PC, the AI PC, and both companies are working to close the performance and efficiency gap with Apple. Qualcomm's new Arm-based PC CPUs will show up in Microsoft's upcoming Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, which promise extended battery lives and exceptional performance. Other companies, including Nvidia, are reportedly eyeing the PC chip market as well.

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Source Fool.com