December 18, 2024 /SemiMedia/ — NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aviva Links , a provider of Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA)  compliant in-vehicle connectivity solutions in an all-cash transaction valued at $242.5 million.

Increased adoption of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), such as in-cabin digital cockpits for software-defined vehicles (SDVs), requires highly-asymmetric camera and display networks with high downstream and low upstream bandwidth. Today’s proprietary, sole sourced asymmetrical links limit automakers to non-standardized solutions.

Aviva Links brings the industry’s most advanced ASA compliant portfolio, supporting SerDes point-to-point (ASA-ML) and Ethernet-based connectivity (ASA-MLE) with data rates up to 16 Gbps. The company has secured design wins at two major automotive OEMs and is sampling its devices to various OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.

The Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA), formed in 2019 with NXP as a founding member, helps participating automakers to migrate to open source, interoperable networking solutions that best meet the needs of their increasingly software-defined vehicle offerings. ASA brings an open standard with data rates scalable from 2 Gbps to 16 Gbps and it includes link-layer security. In addition to establishing SerDes point-to-point communication, the standard addresses the seamless migration to efficient Ethernet-based sensor connectivity.

NXP market intelligence expects the addressable market for ADAS and IVI asymmetrical links to grow from $1 billion in 2024 to $2 billion in 20341 . Aviva Links’ acquisition by NXP is expected to help boost this growth by shifting the market from today’s proprietary links to open standard ASA SerDes connections. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2025 subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

"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. Furthermore, we are excited to have Aviva Links’ highly knowledgeable team join NXP’s automotive innovation ranks," said Meindert van den Beld, Senior Vice President and General Manager of In-vehicle Networking, NXP Semiconductors.

With over 150 members today, Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) represents the complete automotive ecosystem, including car manufacturers like BMW, Ford, Stellantis and General Motors, tier-one suppliers, semiconductor vendors, cable and connector manufacturers, test tool vendors, and test houses. As one of the founding members, the BMW Group is the first car manufacturer to have publicly announced series production with ASA-ML this decade.