ARM

Simon Segars, CEO

Headquarters: United Kingdom

While ARM has less name recognition than Intel or Qualcomm, the company's microprocessor designs -- such as its Cortex-M and Cortex-A -- are licensed by the makers of most smartphones, including Apple and Samsung. ARM architecture is also crucial to tablets such as the iPad, and is soon expected to be coming to Windows 10 devices (such as laptops) for the first time.