The object
Steve Furber was a principal designer of Acorn’s ARM 32-bit RISC microprocessor, a small, power-efficient chip architecture made for embedded products. ARM-derived processors became foundational hardware for phones, sensors and countless portable systems, proving that low-power processor design could scale worldwide.
01
What Steve did
Was a principal designer of Acorn’s ARM 32-bit RISC microprocessor and BBC Micro hardware.
02
Why it matters
Manchester reports that more than 85 billion ARM variants had been manufactured, powering mobile and embedded computing.
03
Living-status check
Manchester’s current research directory, reviewed in July 2026, lists Furber as emeritus professor and an active member of its Advanced Processor Technologies group.