Sony buys maker lte modem chips for internet-of-things applications

Sony has acquired Israeli chip company Altair. Altair mainly makes economical lte modem chips and Sony wants to combine the technology with its own technology for sensors, including for Internet-of-things applications.

Sony is paying 196 million euros for Altair Semiconductor and expects the acquisition to be completed in early February. Founded in 2005 by former Texas Instruments employees, Altair focuses on the production of economical and low-cost LTE modem chips.

The chips must therefore be particularly suitable for internet-of-things applications, and Altair mentions wearables, cars, smart homes and smart cities as examples. Sony wants to combine the modem chip technology with its own technology, such as navigation and image sensors. Camera sensors have become increasingly important to Sony’s bottom line, but the company still has little in-house technology when it comes to Internet-of-things. “Sony is committed to developing a new breed of networked devices with sensor components,” the company said.