Not really.
ARM as we know it today is purely an IP licensing thing - if you want a 32-bit processor to embed in your VLSI, you can licence an ARM core.

Years ago, I did some work for Rockwell who were designing a DECT chipset - it had an ARM core buried deep inside it.


Philips, Samsug, Atmel, Triscend, et al have licensed ARM cores, put some peripherals around them, and sell them as ARM-based general-purpose microcontrollers.

Looking at their Preliminary results For The Year Ended 31 December 2003, it looks like ARM are trying to get into this microcontroller market, in the hope that people will start with an off-the-shelf ARM microcontroller and then move to a full VLSI implementation with a deeply-embedded ARM core.
If this is the case, Triscend looks like a good buy for 2 reasons:

1. They're only small. ARM obviously couldn't afford to buy Philips just for the ARM-based Microcontrollers!

2. The Triscend "Configurable System On A Chip" model, with their easy FastChip drag-and-drop tool is an easy introduction to a "single-chip" solution, so ARM can easily coax customers on to a full-custom VLSI solution with a deeply-embedded ARM core.

Well, that's my theory, anyway!