>without having to pay an ARM and a leg for it.

why Apple M1 and AWS Graviton is based on ARM? if ARM license cost is a concern. even smaller players use ARM as well...

Because RISC-V wasn't ready yet, and still isn't ready. Ecosystems matter. But the ecosystem sure seems primed for massive growth, and there's no architectural reason why RISC-V can't perform as high as ARM and beyond.

What's the cost of ARM licensing relative to designing a processor? 1%? 10%? 100%?