Nvidia aquires Icera 367M ,stepping into 3G/4G wireless / Nvidia收購Icera

Nvidia agrees to pay $367 million for Icera

Peter Clarke

5/9/2011 9:55 AM EDT

LONDON – Graphics and CPU company Nvidia Corp. is stepping into 3- and 4G communications by way of the purchase of Icera Inc. (Bristol England) for $367 million in cash.

Icera, founded in 2002, has received more than $200 million in venture capital investment over the years and has more than 550 patents granted or pending worldwide. The company has specialized in creating software modems that run on its own ICs for incorporation in dongles and mobile phones.

By acquiring Icera Nvidia will be able to combine its own GPUs and ARM-based CPUs with mobile communications technology to enhance its position as a provider of chips, chipsets and software for mobile applications, the company said.

Nvidia said it would combine applications processors and baseband processors although it also stated that it would continue to collaborate with existing baseband partners and respect customers' preferences in combining application and baseband processors.

The acquisition, for $367 million in cash, has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and is expected to be completed, subject to customary closing conditions, in approximately 30 days.

The market for baseband processors is one of the fastest growing segments of the technology industry, worth an estimated $15 billion a year.

"This is a key step in Nvidia's plans to be a major player in the mobile computing revolution," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia. "Adding Icera's technology to Tegra gives us an outstanding platform to support the industry's best phones and tablets. Icera is a perfect fit for Nvidia. Our businesses are complementary. Icera has the right team, with a strong, proven track record. And their nimble, entrepreneurial, engineering-focused culture mirrors our own."

Stan Boland, president and CEO of Icera, said, "Nvidia's Tegra processor has the most impressive roadmap in the industry, and it is an ideal match for Icera. As part of Nvidia, we will be able to reach a broader market. Our team has collaborated closely with Nvidia for several years on a range of projects, and we’re delighted to be joining forces."

Nvidia收購Icera

（中央社台北2011年5月10日電）繪圖晶片大廠輝達（Nvidia US-NVDA）表示，將以3.67億美元，收購未上市的Icera Inc.，增添無線電處理器（radio processors）的生力軍，以拓展手機和平板電腦市場。
輝達在新聞稿中表示，買下英國的Icera，將讓輝達有能力提供客戶驅動行動裝置的兩種主要晶片。成立於2002年的Icera，擁有大約300名員工，其晶片將無線電訊號轉換為聲音和數據。
在執行長黃仁勳的帶領下，輝達試圖搶食新興市場行動裝置大餅，降低對個人電腦繪圖晶片的依賴程度。在這塊市場，輝達面臨對手英特爾（Intel US-INTC）和超微（Advanced Micro Devices US-AMD）日益激烈的競爭。
輝達已成功爭取摩托羅拉移動控股（MotorolaMobility Holdings Inc.）的行動裝置採用Tegra處理器。
輝達週一收盤上漲43美分，報19.75美元。輝達預定12日公布首季財報。（譯者：中央社劉淑琴）