Qualcomm to Acquire Auto Chipmaker Autotalks, to Incorporate Technology in Snapdragon Digital Chassis

Qualcomm said on Monday that it would acquire Israel's Autotalks, a maker of chips used in crash-prevention technology in vehicles, as the U.S. firm looks to expand its automotive-related business.

The company did not disclose the terms of the deal but said Autotalk's technology would be incorporated into its assisted and autonomous driving product, called Snapdragon Digital Chassis.

Qualcomm said in September last year that its automotive business "pipeline", or potential future orders, rose by more than $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,100 crore) to $30 billion (roughly Rs. 2,46,100 crore) since its third-quarter results were announced in late July, as automakers increasingly equip their cars with driver-assistance systems.

The company, which has credited the jump to its Snapdragon Digital Chassis product, competes with Intel's Mobileye Global and Nvidia for that slice of the market.

Revenue from Qualcomm's automotive business rose 20 percent to $447 million (roughly Rs. 3,700 crore) in the second quarter ended March 26.

Autotalks makes dedicated chips used in the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications technology for manned and driverless vehicles to improve road safety.

In February, Qualcomm announced that it was working with a group of Android smartphone companies to add satellite-based messaging capabilities to their devices.

The San Diego, California-based company, which is the world's biggest supplier of chips that connect mobile phones to wireless data networks, said it is working with Honor, Lenovo-owned Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi to develop the devices.

Satellite-based communications can send and receive data in remote or rural regions where other telecommunications networks are not available. Qualcomm announced that it was adding the capabilities to its chips earlier this year.

© Thomson Reuters 2023