Dutch chip firm NXP Semiconductors has signed a deal to buy Austria-based automotive software solution provider TTTech Auto for $625 million. TTTech Auto, with around 1,100 engineering staff, produces safety systems and middleware for software-defined vehicles. The firm, including its management team and intellectual property and assets, will be integrated into NXP’s automotive unit, pending regulatory approval. It is an all-cash deal.
TTTech Auto claims direct relationships with various automotive OEMs. Its solutions “complement and accelerate” NXP’s CoreRide platform, introduced last year to address the software-defined automotive market. The proposed deal represents the “next milestone” in NXP’s strategy to be “the leader in intelligent edge systems in automotive and industrial IoT”, the Dutch firm said. TTTech Auto has been a software partner for CoreRide since its release.
The CoreRide platform features NXP’s S32 compute, networking, and power management. NXP reckons it is the industry’s first “open [and] purpose-built” software platform to break hardware and software integration barriers in the automotive market. “TTTech Auto augments NXP’s hardware proficiency with added software expertise, delivering a uniquely capable platform from which automakers can build software-defined vehicles,” it said.
TTTech Auto’s MotionWise middleware platform, to manage interconnected systems in vehicles, features automated software deployment in automotive compute platforms. It lets automakers scale software across car models, streamline safety integration, and move or add safety-critical features. NXP said the deal will “enable even stronger hardware/software integration benefits for the global ecosystem of NXP CoreRide partners.”
The automotive market is moving from hardware-based to platform-based software-defined designs with more sophisticated and interconnected hardware and software systems. Software-defined vehicles will comprise 45 percent of global automotive production in 2027, according to German analyst firm S&P Global; the software-defined automotive market will grow at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 48 percent in the period to then, it predicts.
Jens Hinrichsen, executive vice president for automotive embedded systems at NXP, said: “The inclusion of TTTech Auto’s software into the NXP CoreRide solution further strengthens NXP’s automotive value proposition and accelerates the automotive industry’s transformation to software-defined vehicles. NXP CoreRide enables automakers to deploy their best-in-class, differentiated vehicle platforms more efficiently, faster, and safely. Our acquisition is the next big step in NXP’s journey to become the leading provider of intelligent edge systems in automotive and Industrial IoT.”
Dirk Linzmeier, chief executive officer of TTTech Auto, said: “The emergence of intricately connected and adaptive frameworks in software-defined vehicles highlights the need for middleware to tackle challenges in integration, safety and scalability. NXP and TTTech Auto both clearly recognize this need and share the same vision for SDV transformation. Together, MotionWise and CoreRide empower automakers with a robust software foundation, ensuring seamless coordination of diverse systems that help automakers deliver innovative features.”
