Stefan Mileschin

Intel has bought up what’s left of ST Ericsson’s GPU business unit. ST Ericsson came to screeching halt earlier this year, after the founders of the mobile chip joint venture decided it is time to call it quits. It is set to be closed down next quarter.

Luckily for Intel, ST Ericsson has exactly what it needs for its smartphone push. It is still not clear how much it will pay for the GPS unit, but ST said that it would reduce the cost of closing the joint venture by about $90, so at least we have a ballpark estimate.

According to EE Times, Intel will not only get the assets and IP associated with the unit, but it will also poach a team of 130 industry veterans based in England, India and Singapore. They are likely to join Intel’s wireless platform R&D organization once the deal is finalised, which should happen by August.

Intel has been struggling to gain a foothold in the smartphone/tablet market for a couple of years, but now it finally seems on track. It is slowly starting to get high profile design wins and upcoming 22nm Atoms should make it a lot more competitive.

http://news.techeye.net/business/int...csson-gps-unit