NXP acquires US connectivity specialist Aviva Links

NXP is expanding its automotive networking and connectivity portfolio with the acquisition of Aviva Links, a provider of so-called Serdes point-to-point (ASA-ML) and Ethernet-based connectivity (ASA-MLE) solutions. A serializer-deserializer (Serdes) is an electronic circuit that transforms serial data streams into parallel data and vice versa, most commonly found in high-speed communications applications. NXP is paying 242 million dollars in cash for the San Jose-based firm.

Increased adoption of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), such as in-cabin digital cockpits for software-defined vehicles (SDVs), requires highly asymmetric camera and display networks with high downstream and low upstream bandwidth. Today’s proprietary, sole-sourced asymmetrical links limit automakers to non-standardized solutions.

Aviva offers Serdes solutions that are compliant with the Automotive Serdes Alliance (ASA), an industry organization that supports automakers to migrate to open-source, interoperable networking solutions. NXP is a founding member of ASA, which with over 150 members spans the entire automotive supply chain.