MegaChips Corporation, a top 25 fabless semiconductor company based in Japan, agreed to acquire SiTime for $200 million in cash.
SiTime, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, specializes in silicon MEMS-based oscillators and clock generators that are a drop-in replacement for legacy quartz crystal products. Its MEMS timing solutions replace quartz products in the telecom, networking, computing, storage and consumer markets, with the benefits of higher performance, smaller size, and lower power and cost.The company has shipped over 250 million devices to date. The company commenced operations in 2005 and is headed by Rajesh Vashist.
MegaChips, which was established in 1990, is focused on the development of cutting-edge system LSIs and systems products incorporating original algorithms and architecture in the areas of imaging, audio, and telecommunications. The company has annual revenue of US$600 million. The acquisition gives MegaChips gets a leadership position in MEMS, through SiTime’s 80%
share in MEMS timing.
Key market for both companies include Wearables, Mobile and Internet of Things.
“MegaChips has an aggressive growth strategy with a vision to become one of the top ten fabless semiconductor companies through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions,” said Akira Takata, President and CEO of MegaChips Corporation. “MEMS components are fuelling the growth of the semiconductor industry. Through the acquisition of SiTime, MegaChips becomes a leader in MEMS. SiTime will help us expand our portfolio and diversify our customer base. SiTime technology is the perfect match for MegaChips’ solutions that target Wearables, Mobile and IoT markets such as “frizz”, our ultra-low-power smart phone Sensor Hub LSI and BlueChip Wireless, a sub-GHz RF LSI.”
“As a founding investor in SiTime, Bosch recognized early on the tremendous vision and innovation behind SiTime’s approach to MEMS timing,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman, Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “We have closely followed their success from a Silicon Valley startup to a revenue-generating company that sells to some of the world’s largest electronics companies. We are pleased that MegaChips is acquiring SiTime and we expect a bright future for the combined companies.”
Upon closing, scheduled for November 2014 pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, SiTime will retain its name and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of MegaChips.
http://www.megachips.co.jp/english/
In June 2014, SiTime introduced the smallest, lowest power 32 kHz TCXO (temperature compensated oscillator) designed for the emerging market of wearable electronics and Internet of Things (IoT).
The new, 32 kHz TCXO (temperature compensated oscillator) device, which leverages SiTime’s MEMS technology, comes in a 1.5 x 0.8 mm chip scale package (CSP). It can perform various functions in a system included delivering reference for real time clock (RTC) function, sleep clock for connectivity (Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi), and heartbeat clock for battery supervisory function.
Compared to a quartz TCXO, the SiT1552 MEMS TCXO is:
- 20% of the size and is available in a 1.5 x 0.8mm CSP
- 50% lower power, typically consuming less than 1 micro-amp
- 45% thinner, with a height of 0.55 mm
- 10 times faster startup, with a startup time of 0.3 milliseconds
- 30 times higher shock resistance
- 15 times higher reliability, at 500 million hours MTBF
