Qualcomm has a very large portion of the mobile device market as it is, with their Snapdragon offerings and mobile Adreno graphics are well known, and liked. And they’re usually in near everything that comes to the US. They’re about to get an even bigger presence, especially in the vehicle SoC world, with their purchase of NXP Semiconductor.
NXP Semiconductor could be a valuable acquisition
Though it won’t necessarily be an instant inside into the competitive world of vehicle AI, NXP is involved with 14 of the top 15 infotainment systems this year. That means they have a lot of reach and the ability to move into whole-car systems in the future. That inside cost them $47 billion, and it may be one of the largest deals in the semiconductor business in some time, if ever.
“By joining Qualcomm’s leading SoC capabilities and technology roadmap with NXP’s leading industry sales channels and positions in automotive, security and IoT, we will be even better positioned to empower customers and consumers to realize all the benefits of the intelligently connected world,” says Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm.
This is an interesting thing to see considering that even Nvidia is even now having trouble finding traction in the automobile industry, even with their newest Drive PX2. But Qualcomm is an experienced maker with their own ARM license and the ability to churn out semi-custom silicon quite quickly, so having a semiconductor company that has proper experience with cars could help grow there business well beyond what it is now. Which is prolific nearly everywhere.