Will ARM Benefit From Apple's HealthKit, HomeKit And Other Initiatives?

Earlier this week, some analysts

suggested

that

Apple'sAAPL

recent

announcements

could be a signal to invest in semiconductor and software design company

ARM

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. But will ARM really benefit from HomeKit, HealthKit and other Apple projects? "Absolutely," Gary Atkinson, Director of Emerging Technologies, told Benzinga. "I think if you want to put a connected device either directly on the Internet via a [sensor] or you want to connect the device to a smartphone like a wearable device or a heart rate monitor -- you know, wellness, fitness, or a watch (I have a Pebble, for example). If you want to connect any of these devices to a smartphone, the vast majority of those are using ARM-based chips."

Atkinson, who will be speaking at the upcoming Connected Conference (June 18 and 19) in Paris, said that ARM will enjoy long-term benefits from any activities around accelerating the deployment of sensors and actuators in home automation.

Google, for example, has previously explored home automation with its Android @Home project. The company recently acquired Nest Labs, indicating that it plans to do more in this space. "What Google is doing around Nest with the acquisition of Nest…nothing significant has happened with what they announced around home automation or Android @Home a couple years ago," said Atkinson. "But that could be bubbling under in a project somewhere in Google." ARM's benefits are not limited to what Apple and Google are doing. "Any major player that applies resources and marketing and money to an area like building automation, health monitoring for individuals, the ability for me to bring all of those vertically siloed applications together in one application and share that data with my doctor, that's all a good thing for society," Atkinson concluded. "And yes, ARM will benefit from the increase in number of devices with ARM chips in it." Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.