NXP to become top chip supplier to auto industry

March 3, 2015

NXP’s purchase of Freescale will make NXP the top semiconductor supplier to the auto industry, according to Don Clark writing in The Wall Street Journal. He cites Gartner research placing NXP and Freescale in the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, before the merger. Clark notes that new cars have as many as 100 chips, with Gartner estimating that a new car includes $334 worth of semiconductors, a figure that will rise to $368 by 2018.

Clark quotes Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, as saying, “The car is going to become a computer on wheels. This is going to be a large business.” Clark also reports the NXP chief executive Richard Clemmer emphasizes that the auto market is only one of many targets for the combined company.

Read Clark’s complete article here (subscription required).

About the Author

Rick Nelson

Contributing Editor

Rick Nelson is a technical journalist who has served as executive editor of Test & Measurement World, chief editor of EDN, and executive editor of EE-Evaluation Engineering. He has also contributed to publications including Vision Systems Design and Electronic Design, and he has participated in many live panel discussions and webcasts. Rick has also held systems-engineering and product-development positions at General Electric and Litton Industries. He received his B.S.E.E. degree from The Pennsylvania State University.