Qualcomm wants to acquire Israeli car chip maker Autotalks

Qualcomm wants to acquire chipmaker Autotalks. That company designs chips that are used in car safety systems. According to TechCrunch, Qualcomm would pay up to $400 million for the Israeli chip company, although the two companies have not officially confirmed that.

Qualcomm confirmed on Monday that it has entered into an agreement for the acquisition with Autotalks. However, the two companies are not disclosing any financial details about the deal. According to a TechCrunch source Qualcomm would pay $350 to $400 million for the start-up. The acquisition still needs to be assessed by competition authorities before it can be finalised. The companies do not share an expectation for when the acquisition should be completed.

Autotalks is a fabless chip company founded in 2009. The company focuses on vehicle-to-everything communication chips. Such V2X chips allow vehicles to communicate like cars with other vehicles and with their environment. They are used in car safety systems and are intended, among other things, to reduce collisions, for example by detecting vehicles that are in a driver’s blind spot. Following the acquisition, Autotalks’ products will be included in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis portfolio.