Mobile semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm agreed on Wednesday to purchase US-based silicon computing technology developer Nuvia in a $1.4bn deal that will allow computing technology provider Dell to exit.
Nuvia is developing silicon power management systems, performance processors and systems on a chip (SoC) for use in compute-intensive devices, particularly those in data centres which require large amounts of energy to operate.
The acquisition is being conducted by the corporate’s Qualcomm Technologies subsidiary, and Nuvia’s technology is expected to enhance its mobile graphics processing unit, digital signal processor, multimedia accelerator and artificial intelligence engine products.
Qualcomm’s chief technology officer, Jim Thompson, said: “Creating high performance, low-power processors and highly integrated, complex SoCs are part of our DNA.
“Adding Nuvia’s deep understanding of high-performance design and integrating Nuvia [central processing units] with Snapdragon – together with our industry-leading graphics and AI – will take computing performance to a new level and drive new capabilities for products that serve multiple industries.”
Nuvia was founded in February 2019 and raised $53m nine months later in a series A round co-led by Dell subsidiary Dell Technologies Capital and Capricorn Investment that included Mayfield Fund, Nepenthe and WRVI Capital.
The series A participants returned for a $240m series B round in September 2020 led by Mithril Capital and also backed by investment and financial services group Fidelity, Temasek, Atlantic Bridge, Redline Capital, Mayfield, Sehat Sutardja, Weili Dai and funds managed by BlackRock.
