CEVA, Inc. Makes Strategic Equity Investment in Antcor, a Provider of Software-Based Wi-Fi IP
– Investment extends CEVA’s market reach into the connectivity space, offering a unified DSP platform supporting 802.11ac, LTE-Advanced and other communication standards based on the CEVA-XC architecture
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, Sept. 12, 2012 – CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and DSP cores, today announced that it has made a minority equity investment in Antcor, a provider of software-based intellectual property for Wi-Fi in handsets, machine-to-machine (M2M), and small cells. Under the equity investment agreement, Antcor is focusing the development of its Wi-Fi 802.11ac software around the CEVA-XC™ DSP architecture framework, enabling CEVA customers to license a complete and optimized software-based Wi-Fi solution.
Antcor’s software IP primarily targets use cases where Wi-Fi radio is utilized alongside other air interfaces such as LTE-Advanced, HSPA+, TV broadcasting, Bluetooth, GNSS and smart home networks. Antcor’s Wi-Fi IP offering is a highly scalable solution, allowing customers to address a wide range of product categories, from wireless terminals up to advanced access points and wireless infrastructure equipment. Including both PHY and MAC layers, Antcor’s IP is licensed with a complete verification and simulation toolbox that enables licensees to further differentiate their end product.
Gideon Wertheizer, CEO of CEVA, commented: “With our strategic investment in Antcor, we are extending the CEVA-XC ecosystem to include the most advanced Wi-Fi standards available. Antcor’s engineering excellence and experience in a software-based Wi-Fi approach has enabled them to deliver the optimal solution to address the performance, cost and flexibility issues inherent with current hardwired Wi-Fi designs, while also offering the ability to support additional wireless and communication standards in software on the same platform.”
Costas Meimetis, CEO at Antcor, commented: “Antcor is a pioneer in software-defined Wi-Fi IP, bringing years of experience in Wi-Fi and OFDM technologies. CEVA’s investment strengthens our strategy to revolutionize the wireless market with an efficient certified Wi-Fi offering, bringing high levels of flexibility and scalability required by future products. The combination of the CEVA-XC DSP, CEVA’s Wi-Fi software libraries and silicon-based software development kit perfectly complements our market-proven Wi-Fi IP. Together, the companies will provide a cost-effective, multi-standard communications solution which integrates Wi-Fi, LTE-Advanced and other wireless technologies on a single platform.”
The CEVA-XC based Wi-Fi solution is fully scalable to address a broad array of applications ranging from low-end single-stream mobile station configurations, up to 802.11ac 4×4 access points. The solution is delivered in conjunction with complete reference architectures targeting a wide range of Wi-Fi use cases and system partitioning. These CEVA-XC based reference architectures provide detailed processor loads, RF and MAC integration, power dissipation, memory bandwidth and time slicing information. In addition, Bluetooth and GNSS IPs are available for integration onto the same platform, enabling a single-engine, cost-effective connectivity solution. Alternatively, the Wi-Fi IP can also be combined with other CEVA reference architectures supporting LTE-Advanced, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA and DTV demodulation to deliver a multi-standard solution addressing the full requirements of any next-generation baseband chip. For more information, visit http://www.ceva-dsp.com/CEVA-XC.html.
About Antcor S.A.
Founded in 2004 by wireless industry experts, Antcor is a leading provider of software Wi-Fi IP for the communications and connectivity chip industry. Antcor’s Wireless IP portfolio includes a unique NLOS wireless backhaul technology, software defined Wi-Fi for various standards (11a/b/g/n/ac) and a verification Wi-Fi toolbox that allows chip vendors to reduce development time, minimize risks and future-proof their designs. Serving the carrier-grade Wi-Fi market since 2006, Antcor’s technology has been adopted by leading OEMs and deployed to hundreds of networks around the globe.
For more information, visit www.antcor.com.
About CEVA, Inc.
CEVA is the world’s leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) DSP cores and platform solutions for the mobile handset, portable and consumer electronics markets. CEVA’s IP portfolio includes comprehensive technologies for cellular baseband (2G / 3G / 4G), multimedia (HD video, Image Signal Processing (ISP) and HD audio), voice over packet (VoP), Bluetooth, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and Serial ATA (SATA). In 2011, CEVA’s IP was shipped in over 1 billion devices and powers handsets from every top handset OEM, including Nokia, Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony, Huawei and ZTE. Today, more than 40% of handsets shipped worldwide are powered by a CEVA DSP core. For more information, visit www.ceva-dsp.com. Follow CEVA on twitter at www.twitter.com/cevadsp.
