미국 반도체 기업 퀄컴이 이스라엘 V2X(차량·인프라 간 통신) 전문 팹리스 오토톡스를 약 3억5,000만∼4억달러에 인수하며, V2X 칩셋의 단일 공급 체제를 강화했다. 업계는 독립 팹리스들의 입지가 축소될 것이라며, 국내 팹리스 기업 에티포스(Ettifos)가 대안 공급자로 급부상 할 것으로 전망했다.
Qualcomm Acquires Israel's Autotalks, a Tectonic Shift in the V2X Market
Concerns over shrinking independent fabless presence and undermining multi-vendor structure
American semiconductor company Qualcomm has acquired Israeli V2X (vehicle-to-infrastructure communication) specialist fabless Autotalks for approximately $350 million to $400 million, strengthening its single supply system for V2X chipsets. The industry predicted that the position of independent fabless companies would shrink, and that domestic fabless company Ettifos would emerge as an alternative supplier.
On June 5, Israeli economic media CTech reported that Qualcomm had finalized the acquisition after passing antitrust reviews by the EU and the U.S. FTC.
The acquisition, which was originally discussed in early 2023, has been delayed by more than a year, but the two companies have reportedly maintained the original price range.
V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) is a general term for real-time wireless communication technology between transportation entities, such as vehicles and vehicles (V2V), vehicles and infrastructure (V2I), and pedestrians (V2P).
Autotalk's chipset, which supports both existing DSRC (dedicated short-range radio) and LTE/5G-based C-V2X, has been evaluated as globally compatible.
Qualcomm's strategy is to accelerate the construction of cooperative safety systems for connected cars and autonomous vehicles by integrating V2X functions into the 'Snapdragon Digital Chassis™' lineup of its subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies.
“This is an important milestone that will allow us to expand V2X technology, which we have been consistently investing in since 2017, to the entire world,” said Nakul Duggal, general manager of Qualcomm Automotive and Embedded IoT.
Former Autotalks CEO Hagai Zis will join Qualcomm as vice president of product management following the acquisition.
“Qualcomm’s global marketing and production capabilities combined with Autotalk’s technical expertise will serve as a catalyst for innovation in the V2X market,” he said.
Market research firm IndustryARC projects that the global V2X chipset market size will grow rapidly to approximately $23.9 billion by 2031.
On the other hand, qualityThere are concerns that the strengthening of the single-source supply system for computers will reduce the position of independent fabless companies and undermine the multi-vendor structure.
In fact, with the exception of Autotalks, there are virtually no fabless companies that independently develop vehicle communication chips.
Meanwhile, domestic fabless company Ettifos is emerging as an alternative supplier.
Etiforce is developing its own SDM (Software Defined Modem)-based 5G-V2X chipset, and last year, in collaboration with Keysight, it became the first in the world to pass the Release 16-based sidelink compatibility test.
IndustryARC selected Etiforce as “a competitive platform provider that supports 5G transition without equipment replacement” and predicted that demand will expand in the U.S., Korea, and the Middle East.
An industry insider said, “Qualcomm’s strengthening of vertical integration is likely to exacerbate the absence of independent fabless companies,” adding, “The technological prowess and production capacity of alternative suppliers such as Etifos will be key factors in maintaining market balance in the future.”
Meanwhile, Qualcomm plans to further enhance the safety and connectivity of autonomous vehicles using the acquisition of V2X as a springboard. Whether or not to develop an integrated solution encompassing both DSRC and C-V2X is emerging as a topic of interest for global automakers and parts manufacturers.
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