Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), February 2, 2017, announced that it has agreed to acquire Silicon Valley-based GainSpan Corporation (“GainSpan”). GainSpan is a wireless connectivity solution provider that specializes in the design and development of ultra-low power Wi-Fi technology. The company manufactures and commercializes chips and modules for battery-powered devices and related intellectual property (IP) with embedded software, including network stacks and application reference designs. GainSpan has over 90 employees, mostly R&D and application and support engineers, spread across an R&D center in Bangalore, India and San Jose, California.
“As we enter an era of maturity for the IoT, we are starting to witness the appearance of spaces within it such as the Internet of Sensors, the Internet of Cars, and the Internet of Digital,” said Oozi Cats, CEO of Telit. “With few exceptions, the ability to cut the power cord is an essential growth engine for all these branches of the IoT.”
According to the September 2016 “IoT Forecasts” from Machina Research, by 2025 about 75% of the more than 27 billion IoT connections will be short range, which is largely comprised of the various types of Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a leading technology for applications within the IoT that are battery-dependent, due to the low-power consumption associated with the technology.
The new business addition positions Telit to expand its complete end-to-end IoT solutions portfolio and address the growing market of battery-powered devices that rely on Wi-Fi and other low-power technologies. GainSpan products are situated at the intersection of several emerging segments in IoT such as healthcare, building management, cold-chain logistics, and a wide range of commercial and industrial application areas. GainSpan’s top-tier customer base leverage the company’s IP to deliver seamless integration of Wi-Fi with low-power technologies like BLE and 6LoWPAN for reliable, secure connectivity.
“The acquisition of GainSpan brings to Telit a world-class portfolio and a proven track record of Wi-Fi and low-power module solutions trusted by tier-one customers,” continued Oozi Cats. “Combined with our existing strength in delivering the most comprehensive, relevant portfolio of products and solutions for the IoT, this addition positions us well for future growth in our target segments, including security and surveillance, home automation, healthcare, asset management, and smart cities.”
Assets from GainSpan align well with existing Telit products including cellular, BT/BLE, GNSS modules; IoT connectivity and platform services, strengthening the company’s “sensor-to-cloud” solution proposition. The integration of the unique variety of low-power Wi-Fi technology from GainSpan, with low standby current and fast wake-up time into the Telit portfolio enables customers to extend the battery life of their devices for years*. GainSpan IP also offloads Wi-Fi services and networking functionality from the application. Customer devices can be designed with a simple and inexpensive MCU or without one at all.
