ARM is a type of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor architecture. It is used in many smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. ARM licenses its chip designs to many companies like Samsung, Qualcomm and nVidia. ARM chips are cheaper than other designs because they use less power, transistors and die area following the principles of performance per watt or PPA. This allows ARM to spread the large R&D costs across the industry. As a result, ARM has seen great market penetration in mobile applications and is expanding into other areas like robotics and appliances.