Nordic Semiconductor has acquired Memfault and Neuton.AI to deliver a one-stop full-stack solution for IoT development and lifecycle management, combined with new on-device edge AI (AIoT; tinyML) capabilities – signaling a strategic shift from hardware maker to end-to-end provider.
In sum – what to know:
IoT management – acquisition of Memfault brings cloud-based lifecycle management to IoT devices; brand and multi-vendor support will continue.
IoT intelligence – deal for Neuton.AI adds ultra-compact, efficient edge AI for Bluetooth SoCs, targeting consumer, healthcare, and industrial markets.
IoT shopfront – twin purchase of California duo positions Nordic as the first IoT chipmaker with hardware, software, and cloud services (it claims).
The IoT transfer window is open, it seems: chipmaker Nordic Semiconductor has completed a double swoop for US duo Memfault and Neuton.AI, both based in California, providing cloud-based connectivity management and on-device edge ML/AI (variously dubbed ‘tinyML’ and ‘AIoT’), respectively. Nordic called the Memfault purchase a “declaration of intent”, and said it provides the Norwegian outfit with a “full-stack solution” for connected products – “from chip to cloud… for lifecycle management of connected products”. It said the new Neuton.AI setup “ignites a new era of ML on the edge”.
Financial terms of the deals are undisclosed; both are subject to customary regulatory approvals. Nordic and Memfault are partners already; they “share a broad base of mutual customers and common markets”, said a statement. The suggestion is that the Memfault brand will be retained; it will “continue to thrive, with further enhancements and investments in hardware integration, device management, and advanced AI capabilities”, said Nordic. Memfault customers that are not using Nordic hardware will retain support.
It stated: “Nordic is committed to supporting every IoT device maker – including all existing Memfault customers – regardless of their choice of hardware.” The move “marks a major leap in Nordic’s evolution – from a hardware supplier to a complete solution partner”, it explained, suggesting it makes it “the first semiconductor company to combine best-in-class hardware, software, and cloud services”. The pitch is to keep all IoT lifecycle management under one roof (platform) to simplify development and accelerate deployment (time-to-market).
This covers “continuous software upgrades” of IoT products in the field for purposes of security, performance, power, and functionality. “This allows customers to focus on innovation – free from the burden of navigating fragmented and complex IoT ecosystems,” said Nordic. Memfault’s capabilities will be integrated into its complete product portfolio and cloud services platform. OTA lifecycle management is increasingly important as IoT devices make room for on-board AI, and as security standards evolve under frameworks such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act, it noted.
The Neuton.AI deal is directly about edge AI in IoT devices – which the wider market (not Nordic, actually) likes to call AIoT. The deal includes intellectual property and “selected” assets, plus a staff of 13. The brand and platform will continue to operate during the “initial integration phase”, said Nordic – implying it will be subsumed eventually. The acquisition is evidence of the momentum behind the whole miniaturised machine learning (‘tinyML’) movement, which shrinks ML onto low-powered IoT devices – and which has gathered head of steam over five years.
Nordic is a Bluetooth chip specialist, although it offers multi- and alternative connectivity solutions, including cellular IoT. The tie-up with Neuton.AI is to integrate the latter’s neural network framework with its flagship nRF54 series of system-on-chips (SoCs) – to bring “scalable, high-performance AI to even the most resource-constrained devices”. The nRF54L series (nRF54L05, nRF54L10, nRF54L15) is an advanced ultra-low-power Bluetooth 5.4 SoC, with support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Bluetooth mesh networks, plus Thread and Matter.
Nordic stated: “Neuton.AI’s patented technology breakthrough lies in its fully automated platform, which creates ML models typically under 5 KB in size – up to 10x smaller and faster than other approaches… These models require no manual tuning or data science expertise, enabling rapid deployment across 8-, 16-, and 32-bit MCUs. Its neural network framework builds ultra-small models automatically without predefined architectures. Neuton.AI offers accurate, energy-efficient, and fast AI for edge applications in the consumer, healthcare, and industrial markets.”
It quoted uncited research that the market for tinyML chipset shipments will reach $5.9 billion by 2030. It said: “Nordic is prepared to capitalize on the opportunity by offering developers a robust, ready-to-scale AI/ML toolkit for applications such as predictive maintenance, smart health monitoring, process automation, gesture recognition, next-gen consumer wearables, and IoT devices.”
Vegard Wollan, president and chief executive at Nordic Semiconductor, said: “The acquisition [of Memfault] is a declaration of intent. Together, we enable thousands of customers to continuously interact with millions of devices in the field. We are setting a new standard in the global semiconductor landscape for integrating hardware, software, tools, and services. By combining Nordic’s ultra-low power wireless connectivity solutions with Memfault’s cloud services, we are making it faster, simpler, and more secure to develop, maintain, and improve connected products through their entire lifecycle.”
He said on the purchase of NeutronAI: “This is a generational leap in embedded compute power and efficiency. By uniting Nordic’s low-power wireless leadership with Neuton.AI’s cutting-edge tinyML platform, we empower developers to build a new class of always-on, AI-powered devices – faster, smaller, and more power-efficient than ever.”
François Baldassari, chief executive at Memfault, added: “Nordic’s world-class systems-on-chip, paired with Memfault’s cloud platform, creates an unmatched full-stack solution for connected products. Our shared goal is simple: Free our customers and engineers to innovate while the platform guarantees reliability and insights for millions of products in the field.”
