Munich, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland – 4 October, 2023 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) today announced that Infineon has acquired the Zurich-based startup 3db Access AG (3db), a pioneer in secured low power Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology and already today a preferred IP provider for major automotive brands. The acquisition further strengthens Infineon’s portfolio for secured smart access, precise localization and enhanced sensing. Infineon now adds UWB to its connectivity range including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth ®/Bluetooth ® Low Energy and NFC solutions. The first set of IoT use cases include secured access and authentication, accurate location tracking and indoor navigation, as well as presence detection utilizing UWB radar implementations. Infineon is acquiring 100 percent of the company’s shares. The parties have agreed not to disclose the amount of the transaction.
“The expertise of 3db in Ultra-Wideband technology accelerates Infineon’s IoT roadmap for leveraging the market opportunities of secured, connected devices. Our combined strengths enable the UWB roll-out to address additional automotive, industrial and consumer IoT applications as the next logical step,” said Thomas Rosteck, President of Infineon’s Connected Secure Systems division. ABI Research expects the UWB chipset market to grow at an annual 13 percent, amounting to approximately US$3.1 billion by 2028 [1]. “Together, we will now create full system solutions with unique features which combine low-power consumption, enhanced physical layer security, feature-rich Radio Frequency (RF) frontend configurations and localization-optimized hardware architecture.”
”With Smartphone manufacturers adding UWB capability in the latest and future generations of their products, the demand for UWB-capable devices is expected to grow significantly. Our mission is to open up the best of this technology to smartphones as well as cars and to enable standalone integration in low-power IoT devices,” said Boris Danev, Co-Founder and CEO of 3db Access AG. “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.”
In the dynamic UWB market and with rapidly increasing demand from numerous manufacturers, suppliers are also differentiating themselves through their research activities. With their combined expertise, Infineon and 3db will now offer additional benefits to their customers: Originally an ETH Zurich spinoff, 3db maintains a strategic partnership with ETH. Infineon is poised to develop this relationship even further, in addition to intensified collaboration in the relevant standardization bodies for secured localization and sensing. Moreover, Infineon’s broad market access is backed by extensive R&D activities. With 59 R&D sites worldwide, Infineon currently holds more than 31,000 patents and invests an annual 13 percent of its revenues in R&D.
About 3db Access AG
3db delivers secured, ultra-low power and high-precision integrated UWB ranging and sensing solutions. 3db’s integrated products enable a broad range of applications including provable secured access to valuable assets (vehicles, buildings), secured proof of proximity for seamless mobile payments and real-time high accuracy and precision localization of connected, intelligent devices.
[1] Source: ABI Research – Wireless Technology Segmentation and Addressable Markets, September 2023
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG is a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. Infineon drives decarbonization and digitalization with its products and solutions. The company has around 56,200 employees worldwide and generated revenue of about €14.2 billion in the 2022 fiscal year (ending 30 September). Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the OTCQX International over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: IFNNY).
近日，英飞凌科技公司宣布收购了总部位于苏黎世的初创公司 3db Access AG (3db)，该公司是安全低功耗超宽带 (UWB) 技术的先驱，如今已成为主要汽车品牌的首选 IP 提供商。
3db 提供安全、超低功耗和高精度的集成 UWB 测距和传感。其集成产品可实现广泛的应用，包括可证明的对有价值资产（车辆、建筑物）的安全访问、无缝移动支付的邻近安全证明以及互联智能设备的实时高精度定位。
此次收购进一步增强了英飞凌在安全智能访问、精确定位和增强传感方面的产品组合。英飞凌现在将 UWB 添加到其包括 Wi-Fi、蓝牙 /蓝牙 低功耗和 NFC 解决方案在内的连接产品线中。
按照英飞凌的规划，UWB的第一组物联网用例包括安全访问和身份验证、准确位置跟踪和室内导航，以及利用 UWB 雷达实现的存在检测。英飞凌将收购该公司 100% 的股份。双方同意不透露交易金额。
“3db 在超宽带技术方面的专业知识加速了英飞凌的物联网路线图，以利用安全互联设备的市场机会。我们的综合优势使 UWB 的推出能够满足更多的汽车、工业和消费物联网应用需求，这是下一个合乎逻辑的步骤。”英飞凌互联安全系统部门总裁 Thomas Rosteck 说道。
ABI Research 预计， UWB 芯片组市场将以每年 13% 的速度增长，到 2028 年将达到约 31 亿美元 。“我们现在将共同创建具有独特功能的完整系统解决方案，这些解决方案结合了低功耗、增强的物理层安全性、功能丰富的射频 (RF) 前端配置和本地化优化的硬件架构。”
“随着智能手机制造商在其最新一代和下一代产品中添加 UWB 功能，对具有 UWB 功能的设备的需求预计将大幅增长。我们的使命是向智能手机和汽车开放这项技术的最佳功能，并实现低功耗物联网设备的独立集成。”3db Access AG 联合创始人兼首席执行官 Boris Danev 说道。“作为英飞凌的一部分，我们将努力丰富主要物联网和汽车应用的安全定位和传感功能。我们现在正在从一个 IP 提供商发展成为一个由我们自己的晶圆厂销售解决方案的专家团队。”
在充满活力的 UWB 市场中，随着众多制造商的需求迅速增长，供应商也通过他们的研究活动使自己脱颖而出。凭借双方的专业知识，英飞凌和 3db 现在将为客户提供额外的好处。
3db 最初是苏黎世联邦理工学院的衍生公司，现在与苏黎世联邦理工学院保持着战略合作伙伴关系。除了与相关标准化机构加强合作以实现安全定位和传感之外，英飞凌还准备进一步发展这种关系。
此外，英飞凌广泛的市场准入得到了广泛的研发活动的支持。英飞凌在全球拥有 59 个研发基地，目前拥有超过 31,000 项专利，每年将其收入的 13% 投入研发。
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