Icera acquisition could make NVIDIA a player in software-defined radio as well as cell phones and mobile computing

SANTA CLARA, Calif., 10 May 2011. Leaders of graphics processing unit (GPU) specialist NVIDIA in Santa Clara, Calif., are acquiring cellular communications expert Icera in Bristol, England, to boost NVIDIA's profile in 3G and 4G cellular phones and tablet computers. NVIDIA's CUDA graphics chip is becoming popular for embedded digital signal processing because of the GPU's floating-point and parallel-processing capabilities.Although the NVIDIA acquisition of Icera primarily is intended to elevate NVIDIA's involvement in cellular phone and mobile table applications, opinion is divided on how the acquisition might influence the aerospace and defense embedded computing industry. NVIDIA is acquiring Icera for $367 million in cash.Some speculate that as NVIDIA enhances its presence in cellular phone and mobile computing applications, the company might also become a force in software-defined radio and other military wireless computing applications.

Icera designs soft modem chipsets for communications engines in cell phones and mobile computing. Icera has more than 550 patents, and more than 50 carriers worldwide have approved its high speed wireless-modem products. The sale should close in about 30 days.

The market for baseband processors is worth an estimated $15 billion a year, industry analysts say. For more information contact NVIDIA online at www.nvidia.com, or Icera at www.icerasemi.com.