Time to the Internet of Things market drives acquisition

On a conference call explaining the deal, Tuttle said Energy Micro's technology was a 'perfect intersection' with some of the development work going on at Silicon Labs. "It was either acquire Energy Micro or organic growth," he said candidly. The internet of things (IoT) already represents a reasonable slice of Silicon Labs' business – 10% of revenues, according to Tuttle. This deal is aimed squarely at underpinning and growing that share. Energy Micro brings 725 customers to Silicon Labs. Founder and ceo Geir Førre said many of these customers are in the early stages of production should generate a lot of revenue in the next few years. On the face of it, the deal makes sense. Both companies are playing in the low power mcu market, both have designs on low power wireless and both talk about a 'greener world'. Energy Micro brings with it particular expertise in the development of ultra low power mcus, along with a wide portfolio of products based on ARM's Cortex-M0+, M3 and M4 cores. Silicon Labs, meanwhile, has a range of M3 based mcus. Both address a range of wireless communications protocols and will benefit from each other's wireless expertise. Integration is always a challenge with acquisitions such as this one. Distance will be one problem – Silicon Labs is in Austin, Energy Micro is in Oslo – and there is the bigger company/smaller company angle. Yet both ceos believe their 'cultures are aligned'. If they are, it will make the process a lot easier. Most industry watchers say the IoT is set to boom in a big way, with those companies early to market getting the most benefit. This deal has a 'time to market' feel about it. As Tuttle noted, it was acquire or grow organically. Perhaps the latter option might just have seen Silicon Labs missing the boat.