Nordic Semiconductor has entered into an agreement to acquire the IP portfolio of Atlazo in San Diego for an undisclosed sum and signed employment agreements with the core team of eight people. Atlazo is a technology leader in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) processors, sensor interface design and energy management for tiny edge devices. The acquisition will further strengthen Nordic’s leading position in the development of low-power products and solutions for IoT and accelerate ongoing strategically important development initiatives.
Nordic is acquiring cutting edge AI/ML technology, advanced sensor front end technology for health-related applications, and on-device technology allowing any computing processor to operate at the lowest possible energy point for a given task.
The rise of IoT has emphasized the importance of edge devices, leading to an increased demand for more computing power, advanced services, and intelligence at the network edge. To meet these demands, Nordic will leverage Atlazo's hyper-low-power AI/ML processor technology in future SoCs. This will enhance Nordic’s market offering across many of the market verticals it operates in and across its technology offering.
Moreover, with the integration of Atlazo sensor technologies for health applications, Nordic can better serve the expanding smart health markets, including optical heart monitoring, continuous glucose monitoring, and other wearable technologies.
“This brings a new level of always-on AI/ML capabilities and technologies that will strengthen our core business and continue to expand our market opportunity in line with our growth strategy,” says EVP Strategy and Product Management Kjetil Holstad at Nordic Semiconductor.
”While this is a small bolt-on acquisition for Nordic, we consider it to be strategically significant. Adding this group of highly experienced engineers and their intellectual property is an excellent fit with Nordic's ongoing product development. We are confident that this integration will accelerate our progress towards ultra low-power AI/ML, and anticipate that we will begin to see the initial benefits of this acquisition within 12-18 months of closing the transaction.” says Svenn-Tore Larsen, CEO at Nordic Semiconductor.
The acquisition covers all IP and certain other assets of Atlazo, and the location in San Diego will become Nordic’s third R&D site in the US. Nordic earlier this year completed the acquisition of Mobile Semiconductor in Seattle, and also has an office located in Portland, Oregon.
The transaction is dependent on regulatory approval, and completion of the transaction is expected by the end of 2023.
For additional information, please contact:
Pål Elstad, CFO Nordic Semiconductor ASA, +47 991 66 293
Steel Ytterdal, Director of IR Nordic Semiconductor ASA +47 930 37 430
About Nordic Semiconductor:
Nordic Semiconductor is a Norwegian fabless semiconductor company specializing in wireless communication technology that powers the Internet of Things (IoT). Nordic was established in 1983 and has more than 1500 employees across the globe. Our award-winning Bluetooth Low Energy solutions pioneered ultra-low power wireless, making us the global market leader. Our technology range was later supplemented by ANT+, Thread and Zigbee, and in 2018 we launched our low power, compact LTE-M/NB-IoT cellular IoT solutions to extend the penetration of the IoT. The Nordic portfolio was further complemented by Wi-Fi technology in 2021.
About Atlazo:
Atlazo is a leader in always-on AI processor, sensor interface design and energy management for tiny edge devices. Founded in 2016, the company is dedicated to addressing the global demand for smarter and more power efficient tiny devices targeting the rapidly growing market for smart true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds, hearing aids, wearables and health-monitoring devices. Atlazo brings cutting edge innovations in hyper-low power semiconductor design, on-device AI processor, and accurate sensing.