Chipcon
Encyclopedia
Norwegian
company Chipcon AS, headquartered in Oslo
and a wholly owned subsidiary
of Texas Instruments
since 24 January 2006—and from then on known as Texas Instruments Norway AS—develops electronic chip
s for short-range RF (radio) communication
s.
Founded as an ASIC
design center in 1996 by SINTEF SI
researchers Geir Førre, Sverre D. Moen, and Svein A. Tunheim. In 1998, Chipcon became a fabless semiconductor company
. Chipcon has a software design center in San Diego, California
and sales offices in New Hampshire
, Germany
, Hong Kong
, and Japan
(Tokyo
). All in all, the company has operations at 42 locations in 27 countries. , Chipcon employs about 120 people.
In accordance with its focus on the ZigBee standard, Chipcon in early 2005 bought U.S.
company Figure 8 Wireless, which develops Zigbee system software. Typical applications of Chipcon's products are in home automation
systems such as lighting and heating control and alarms, as well as TV and video game remote control
s. , the company's most successful sales lay in the market of wireless controller
s for Xbox
and PlayStation 2
video game consoles. During the first ten years since its founding, Chipcon had sold 20 million of its RF chips.
Texas Instruments paid $
200 million (~ 1.36 billion NOK
) for Chipcon.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
company Chipcon AS, headquartered in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and a wholly owned subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
since 24 January 2006—and from then on known as Texas Instruments Norway AS—develops electronic chip
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s for short-range RF (radio) communication
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
s.
Founded as an ASIC
Application-specific integrated circuit
An application-specific integrated circuit is an integrated circuit customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use. For example, a chip designed solely to run a cell phone is an ASIC...
design center in 1996 by SINTEF SI
SINTEF
SINTEF , headquartered in Trondheim, Norway, is the largest independent research organisation in Scandinavia. Every year, SINTEF supports research and development at 2,000 or so Norwegian and overseas companies via its research and development activity....
researchers Geir Førre, Sverre D. Moen, and Svein A. Tunheim. In 1998, Chipcon became a fabless semiconductor company
Fabless semiconductor company
A fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing the fabrication or "fab" of the devices to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry...
. Chipcon has a software design center in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and sales offices in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
). All in all, the company has operations at 42 locations in 27 countries. , Chipcon employs about 120 people.
In accordance with its focus on the ZigBee standard, Chipcon in early 2005 bought U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company Figure 8 Wireless, which develops Zigbee system software. Typical applications of Chipcon's products are in home automation
Home automation
Home automation is the residential extension of "building automation". It is automation of the home, housework or household activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC , appliances, and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and...
systems such as lighting and heating control and alarms, as well as TV and video game remote control
Remote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
s. , the company's most successful sales lay in the market of wireless controller
Game controller
A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems used to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a computer game. A controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection...
s for Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
video game consoles. During the first ten years since its founding, Chipcon had sold 20 million of its RF chips.
Texas Instruments paid $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
200 million (~ 1.36 billion NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
) for Chipcon.
External links
- TI home page
- Chipcon home page
- TI Completes Acquisition of Chipcon – TI press release, 24 January 2006