In an all-cash transaction worth $242.5 million, NXP Semiconductors said that it has finalized an agreement to purchase Aviva Links, a supplier of Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) compliant in-vehicle connectivity solutions.
Highly asymmetric camera and display networks with high downstream and low upstream bandwidth are necessary for the growing use of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), such as in-cabin digital cockpits for software-defined vehicles (SDVs). Automakers are limited to non-standardized solutions by today’s proprietary, sole-sourced asymmetrical linkages.
With data rates up to 16 Gbps, Aviva Links offers the most sophisticated ASA-compliant portfolio in the industry, enabling Ethernet-based connection (ASA-MLE) and SerDes point-to-point (ASA-ML). The company is sampling its devices to different OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers after securing design wins at two significant automakers.
NXP is one of the founding members of the Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA), which was established in 2019 to assist participating automakers in switching to open source, interoperable networking solutions that best suit their increasingly software-defined vehicle offerings.
With data rates scalable from 2 Gbps to 16 Gbps and link-layer security, ASA offers an open standard. The standard covers the smooth transition to effective Ethernet-based sensor connectivity as well as establishing SerDes point-to-point communication.
The addressable market for ADAS and IVI asymmetrical links is projected to increase from $1 billion in 2024 to $2 billion in 20341.
It is anticipated that this acquisition of Aviva Links will contribute to expansion of market away from proprietary links and toward open standard ASA SerDes connections. It is anticipated that the purchase would close in the first half of 2025, pending governmental approvals and other standard closing requirements.
Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA)
The Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA), which currently has more than 150 members, represents the whole automotive ecosystem, including tier-one suppliers, semiconductor vendors, cable and connector manufacturers, test tool vendors, test houses, and automakers such as BMW, Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors. The first automaker to openly announce series production with ASA-ML this decade is the BMW Group, one of the founding members.
Key Comments
“NXP is one of ASA’s founding partners, and we are thrilled to add asymmetrical multi-gigabit ASA links to our portfolio. This complements and expands our leadership position in automotive networking solutions ranging from CAN and LIN to Ethernet switches and physical layer devices. This portfolio enables us to offer OEMs complete networking solutions directly, making the software-defined vehicle a reality,” said Meindert van den Beld, Senior Vice President and General Manager of In-vehicle Networking at NXP. “Furthermore, we are excited to have Aviva Links’ highly knowledgeable team join NXP’s automotive innovation ranks.”