Intel Adds IP From Egyptian Firm SySDSoft To Growing Mobile Portfolio
Intel Mobile Communications -- the chipmaker's standalone wireless and broadband business recently acquired from German chip design firm Infineon -- said it has hired about 1,000 employees, mostly engineers and scientists, from SySDSoft. In addition, Intel now holds intellectual property from SySDSoft that will contribute to its 4G LTE technology portfolio, bringing additional software and design capabilities to Intel's increasing lineup of mobile hardware offerings.
“The acquisition of engineering and design talent from an Egypt-based company in the field of cutting-edge wireless and communication technology is the first of its kind for Intel in the Middle East,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and executive vice president of Intel, in a statement. “The acquisition shows Intel’s continued long-term strategic commitment to the region and its appreciation of its young, growing talent pool.”
Intel said its mobile division is aimed at developing an ecosystem of power-efficient mobile, embedded devices that are consistently connected to the internet. Intel said this environment includes devices such as smartphones and tablets, but also laptops, cars, and televisions. Dr. Hermann Eul, president of Intel Mobile Communications, said in a statement that Intel envisions offering its broadband technology on billions of different connected devices -- and that its acquisition of SySDSoft will help Intel attain that goal.
“Intel is making the necessary investments to further enhance its existing world-class wireless product portfolio and to offer the most reliable platforms to our customers that will work seamlessly across a range of global networks," Eul said. "The acquisition supports this strategy and we believe that SySDSoft’s proven and experienced engineering team, combined with Intel Mobile Communications’ existing wireless strength, positions us well for continued growth in LTE.”
That continued growth is aimed at closing Intel's mobile gap. Despite claiming a commanding 90 percent share of the overall PC market, Intel is still far behind British design firm ARM Holdings in the mobile segment. According to Gartner, ARM has 87 percent share in the smartphone and tablet markets.
As part of its broad efforts in mobile technology, last month during the launch of its Medfield smartphone processors, Intel made several investments in other mobile software companies, including the acquisition of still imaging and multimedia video processing developer Silicon Hive. In addition, Intel said it is developing new phone radio chips and will, by the second half of 2011, offer support for high-speed network connectivity including LTE on its existing technology.
Intel in January closed its acquisition of Infineon's Wireless Solutions division (WLS), the mobile division of the German chip design firm whose mobile semiconductor IP is included in Apple's iPhone. Renamed Intel Mobile Communications, the unit is in charge of Intel's portfolio of Wi-Fi and 4G and WiMAX chip products.