Acquisition extends smart and connected technology portfolio

With more than 15 years’ experience in sensor processing and more than 100 million devices shipped incorporating their technology to date, Hillcrest Labs is regarded as a leading innovator in the fusion of data from multiple sensors to enable intelligent systems.

The resulting algorithms and software are used in sensors, such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), and end user products to enable contextual awareness and an enriched user experience for a variety of devices, such as the precise navigation of autonomous robots and drones.

Hillcrest Labs’ innovative and proven MotionEngine software supports a broad range of merchant sensor chips and is licensed to OEMs and semiconductor companies that can run the software on CEVA DSPs or a variety of RISC CPUs, including Arm Cortex-M and A series and RISC-V based cores. The MotionEngine software expands and complements CEVA’s smart sensing technology, which includes computer vision and AI processing for cameras and sound processing for microphones.

As a result, CEVA DSP licensees now benefit from CEVA’s capabilities as a complete, one-stop-shop for processing all classes and types of sensors. Furthermore, the Hillcrest Labs software technology broadens CEVA’s software licensing engagements directly with OEMs and ODMs to enable the addition of a plethora of IMU-based software applications to their merchant SoCs, which adopt a royalty payment scheme based on devices rather than chips.

Gideon Wertheizer, CEO of CEVA, commented: "We are truly excited to welcome the Hillcrest Labs team to CEVA. Their unrivalled expertise in sensor processing and innovative sensor fusion technology, as well as proven track record of high volume shipments align perfectly with our diversification strategy in the smart sensing domain.

"This acquisition presents opportunities for multiple royalty growth vectors, including from OEMs, and enables us to be a pioneer in the emerging fields of AR and VR and the different classes of robots. Together with our broad portfolio of connectivity, sound, vision and AI technologies, Hillcrest labs will enable us to continue to redefine the limits of our technology solutions for the data-driven world.”

Chad Lucien, President of Hillcrest Labs, commented: "We are proud and energised to join CEVA, one of the most innovative and dynamic technology companies in the industry. As everyday devices increasingly include more and more sensors to improve the user experience through contextual awareness, our sensor processing and sensor fusion technologies perfectly complement CEVA’s existing smart sensing platforms. We look forward to the new challenges and possibilities that await us in our new home.”

Further details of this transaction and related financial information will be discussed during CEVA’s second quarter 2019 earnings conference call, scheduled for 8th August, 2019.