The British chip designer will list on the Nasdaq today in what will be the largest public offering of shares in the US this year. The stock is priced at $51 apiece, valuing the company at about $52 billion. SoftBank, the sole seller, raised $4.9 billion by selling 9.4% of its stake in the company and will retain control of about 90% of Arm.

Arm does not manufacture chips, but supplies chipmakers with basic circuit designs. The company was founded in 1990 and initially focused on the emerging mobile phone market, eventually becoming the dominant supplier to the industry. The company is headquartered in Cambridge and employs 2,800 people. Arm was previously listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq until 2016, when it was acquired by SoftBank for $32 billion.

Arm's IPO is the largest U.S. stock market entry since 2021, when electric truck maker Rivian went public and raised approximately $12 billion. Valuations of technology companies have experienced a decline from their pandemic highs in the past 18 months due to economic uncertainty and rising interest rates. SoftBank had initially sought to value Arm at US$70 billion, but the company posted low sales in its last financial year, sparking concerns among investors about the drop in profits in the previous quarter and the risks the company faces in China. However, Arm may benefit in the future from growing demand for AI and generative AI chips, which has earned Nvidia a market valuation in excess of $1.1 trillion. A number of major partners have invested in the IPO, including Nvidia, Apple and Samsung.