Acquisitions set to strengthen ST's wireless capabilities

Semiconductor company STMicroelectronics has signed two M&A agreements related to the acquisitions of the entire share capital of ultra-wideband specialist BeSpoon and of the cellular IoT connectivity assets of Riot Micro. After closing of the two transactions, subject to customary regulatory approvals, ST will further strengthen its offer for wireless connectivity and, in particular, the roadmap for its STM32 microcontrollers and secure MCUs.

BeSpoon, based in Le Bourget du Lac, France, is a fabless semiconductor company specialising in ultra-wideband (UWB) communications technology, said to enable secure real-time indoor location with centimetre accuracy in environments under adverse conditions. The integration of this secure positioning technology in the STM32 product portfolio will enable developers of IoT, automotive and mobile communication applications to provide services such as secure access, and precise indoor and outdoor mapping. ST will acquire BeSpoon from its majority shareholder, TRUMPF, and from its founders. In parallel with the transaction, ST and TRUMPF will enter into a strategic partnership for UWB tracking technology.

Riot Micro, based in Vancouver, Canada, designs cellular IoT solutions by applying design techniques from Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi to LTE Cat-M and NB-IoT to optimise system cost and power. The integration of cellular communication capabilities into the STM32 portfolio should strengthen ST’s offer for customers developing applications such as asset tracking, metering and fleet management services.

“At ST we work to offer our customers the products and solutions they need in order to address their opportunities and challenges,” said Claude Dardanne, President, Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group, at STMicroelectronics. “Cellular IoT and UWB technologies are key wireless connectivity solutions that will enable a next wave of IoT connected objects and innovative applications.

“These acquisitions complement ST’s existing wireless microcontroller offer, which includes Bluetooth 5.0 and IEEE 802.15.4 communication protocols as well as the world’s first LoRa-enabled system-on-chip. Wireless microcontrollers are part of our STM32 product offer of over 1000 different devices and with over six billion parts shipped to customers. With these acquisitions, we will address all wireless IoT communication protocols.”

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