Amtel, a global microcontroller manufacturer that works with embedded devices, has agreed to purchase Newport Media, a wireless and cellular system-on-a-chip developer.
According to a report on the issue at Venture Beat, this deal marks yet another move in the chip making industry to firmly plant itself into the Internet of Things (IoT). It notes that various other manufacturers that work in related markets, such as Intel, Qualcomm, Imagination Technologies, Spansion, and Adesto, have made announcements in recent years about their involvement with the IoT.
Indeed, TMC has written before about the companies' collective involvement. Specifically, Spansion's 45nm flash memory chips and similar products from other manufacturers note the need for high speed and high performance arising from small devices. As recently as this week, Intel apparently intends to conquer a separate side of the market by immersing itself in standards that could govern objects connected to the Internet.
For Amtel's part in the equation, the company President and CEO Steve Laub commented on the deal between his company and Newport Media.
"Combined with our existing Wi-Fi and Zigbee solutions and industry leading microcontroller portfolio," he said, "Atmel is positioned for substantial growth in the Internet of Things marketplace."
The company says that this acquision will help it enter industrial settings, homes, and overall building automation. Although its portfolio already sports its SmartConnect wireless chips, Newport Media's technology will allow it to further advance its product line.
Amtel's website describes its SmartConnect chips as targeting battery-powered devices and smart appliances products and the healthcare, home automation, consumer electronics, and industrial automation markets. They are low-power, self-contained modules the company says work well for designers that have no 802.11, RTOS, IP Stack or RF experience. They work with a range of network and encryption standards and can operate without a host in most applications.
