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May 2013

Where Have All the IP Vendors Gone? Part 3: Market Consolidation

Rich Wawrzyniak's picture
published by Rich Wawrzyniak on Wed, 2013-05-29 16:43

We have answered the first two questions on Market Growth and Market Maturation. The third question relates to Market Consolidation and its impact on the long term health of the 3rd Party IP market.

Does the fact that we have recently seen several ‘large’ IP companies acquired by other ‘larger’ IP companies mean the long anticipated consolidation in the industry has gotten underway.

In order to answer this question it might be a good idea to consider what conditions contribute to, or force, a market consolidation in the first place:

Jim Feldhan to Speak at ConFab June 2013

Join Semico's President, Jim Feldhan, at this year's ConFab.  It is being held June 23-26 in Las Vegas.  

MEMS and Microcontrollers Helping Each Other Grow, But Change is in Motion

MEMS and microcontrollers work closely together in many applications.  In the simplest case, a sensor provides an input to an MCU.  The sensor will detect an activity or condition in the environment and convert this to a signal that the MCU uses for its algorithm.  In some cases the MCU may drive a MEMS such as an actuator. 

MEMS and Controllers: Dynamics of Competition

MEMS and microcontrollers work closely together in many applications. In the simplest case, a sensor provides an input to an MCU. The sensor will detect an activity or condition in the environment and convert this to a signal that the MCU uses for its algorithm. In some cases the MCU may drive a MEMS such as an actuator.

Table of Contents: 
TOC_MP103-13.pdf

Tony Massimini Speaking at Sensors Expo & Conference

Join Tony Massimini at the Sensors Expo & Conference on June 4th in Rosemont, IL.  Tony will be speaking during the Pre-Conference Symposium titled MEMS Sensor Fusion: Faster. Stronger. Smarter.  This event is hosted by the MEMS Industry Group.  

Where Have All the IP Vendors Gone? Part 2: Market Maturation

Rich Wawrzyniak's picture
published by Rich Wawrzyniak on Mon, 2013-05-20 23:32

Well, we have answered the first question about market growth, now how about market maturation?

Market maturation can be viewed in two ways:

The Internet of Things: The Next Wave

published by TechInsights on Thu, 2013-05-16 23:27

Predicting the next innovative product that will be a consumer ‘must have’ is not an easy task.  There is always the possibility of someone inventing one really cool device that would rival the success of tablets and smart phones, but Semico doesn't see that on the horizon, yet. We do see enormous opportunities in the markets that are commonly referred to as "The Internet of Things". There are several factors that we believe will drive the Internet of Things. These include but are not limited to:

  • Controlling electric usage to minimize energy consumption
  • Remotely monitoring home and appliances
  • Security concerns for home, office and industrial environments
  • Inventory control in business, retail and at home in your pantry or refrigerator
  • Constant monitoring of home appliances and industrial equipment to prevent costly breakdowns
  • Access to entertainment from home, auto or other remote locations

These are just a few of the advantages of having everything networked and connected to the Internet.   One of the key drivers that Semico believes will influence the implementation of the Internet of Things is the increasing cost of electricity and the desire to monitor and control consumption.

Looking Inside Google Glass

Tony Massimini's picture
published by Tony Massimini on Thu, 2013-05-16 19:02

Google Glass is gaining more interest.  The product will not be officially available to consumers until early 2014.  However, devices have been delivered to developers. 

CNET got its hands on one for a teardown.  Except the teardown didn’t go much further than a few pieces that could be easily removed. To get to the processor or memory would require destroying the plastic housing.  At a retail price of about $1,500 that is not likely to happen.  What has been figured out comes from Google’s specs, software developers and debugging tools.

According to Google, Glass has a high resolution display.  The camera is 5 megapixel and the video is 720p.  Connectivity is 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.  Total Flash memory is 16 GB of which 12 GB is available to the user.  It has a micro USB cable and charger. 

What has been determined is that the main processor is the Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 with 1 GB of RAM.  TI first targeted OMAP for the smartphone market.  It has lost market share to other chip vendors, notably Qualcomm.  However, TI has refocused OMAP on a broader market, including consumer. Amazon uses the TI OMAP 4430 in the Kindle Fire. 

Android developers note that there are 16 sensors which are part of the Google Android Sensor Manager system.  These sensors are used by apps developers.  They are listed:

Where Have All the IP Vendors Gone? Part 1

Rich Wawrzyniak's picture
published by Rich Wawrzyniak on Wed, 2013-05-15 23:30

Well, the title is a little facetious, but given all the recent acquisitions in the 3rd Party IP market, it may certainly feel like that to some people. You can relax, there are still plenty of IP vendors left in the market and that won’t change anytime soon.

So what is going on?

  • Does this foretell a slowing in the market growth so the smart people are getting out now?
  • Is this the start of the long prophesied market maturation?
  • Are we finally seeing the so-called market consolidation down to 4 IP vendors?

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard these questions over the last 10 years. It seems like anyone with an opinion on these issues usually speaks up when certain activities occur – like one IP vendor being acquired by another IP vendor. Or people see the acquisitions as a sign that the IP market can’t keep growing at the same rate as the last 3-4 years, which by the way was really quite good. In fact much better than the overall semiconductor market.

Let’s start by looking at the 3rd Party IP market growth over the last several years.

3rd Party IP Market Growth Rates: 

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