The Munich-based semicondictor specialist Infineon has acquired 100 per cent of the shares in the ultra-wideband (UWB) pioneer 3db Access from Thalwil in the canton of Zurich. The spinoff from the Federal institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) is already a preferred IP provider for major automotive brands, according to a statement.
“The expertise of 3db in Ultra-Wideband technology accelerates Infineon’s IoT roadmap for leveraging the market opportunities of secured, connected devices,” commented Thomas Rosteck, President of Infineon’s Connected Secure Systems division. “Our combined strengths enable the UWB roll-out to address additional automotive, industrial and consumer IoT applications as the next logical step.”
Co-Founder and CEO of 3db Boris Danev said that the mission is “to open up the best of this technology to smartphones as well as cars”. As part of Infineon, “we will strive to enrich secured localization and sensing functionalities for major IoT and automotive applications. We are now evolving from an IP provider to a team of experts selling solutions from our own fabs,” he said.
According to the statement, Infineon is convinced of the added value of the shared wealth of experience with regard to research and development (R&D) and is referring to its 59 R&D sites worldwide and its related investment of 13 per cent of its annual sales. 3db maintains a strategic partnership with the ETH and Infineon is poised to develop this relationship even further, “in addition to intensified collaboration in the relevant standardization bodies for secured localization and sensing”.
