July 8, 2014, Updated July 7, 2014

Qualcomm's acquisition of Wilocity will address the needs of an increasingly connected world. (Shutterstock)
Qualcomm’s acquisition of Wilocity will address the needs of an increasingly connected world. (Shutterstock)
After months of speculation, Qualcomm has acquired Israeli WiGig (wireless gigabit) chipmaker Wilocity in a move that will power the US semiconductor giant to the forefront of high-speed networking tech. According to Qualcomm’s website, the merge with the Israeli startup will now introduce the industry’s first tri-band wireless solutions that combine Qualcomm’s dual-band Wi-Fi with Wilocity’s WiGig and advance next-generation wifi networks.

The agreement will also deliver multi-gigabit wireless with 60 GHz technology for mobile, computing and networking devices.

Financial details surrounding the agreement were not released but Israeli media reported in May that Qualcomm had offered $300 million for a potential acquisition of the Caesarea-based Wilocity. Wilocity is a leader in development of 60 GHz wireless chipsets based on the IEEE 802.11ad standard also known as WiGig technology.

“Tri-band wireless capabilities will revolutionize enterprise computing and networking, with enterprises benefiting immensely,” said Sujai Hajela, senior vice president, enterprise networking group, Cisco. “The multi-gigabit performance and enhanced network capacity that is delivered through WiGig will dramatically alter the way people access and use network-based resources. It’s great to be working with an industry leader like Qualcomm, who is investing in the latest technologies and driving an ecosystem that can take advantage of them.”

Wilocity and Qualcomm have been working together since 2008 to develop WiGig chipsets for devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

“WiGig will play an important role in Qualcomm’s strategy to address consumers’ increasingly sophisticated smartphone, tablet and computing requirements to support applications—such as immediate streaming of 4K video and high throughput peer-to-peer communication to enable the next generation of social interactions between users sharing content,” said Amir Faintuch, president, Qualcomm Atheros. “Combining multi-gigabit speeds and low energy use, WiGig technology will strengthen Qualcomm Atheros’ connectivity leadership and create exciting new experiences that will accelerate the commercialization and adoption of 802.11ad technology. Ultimately, the integration of WiGig will help Qualcomm fulfill its 1000x vision to densify the network to address increasing mobile data demand.”

“Qualcomm Atheros and Wilocity have a successful history of collaboration and share a culture of invention,” said Tal Tamir, chief executive officer, Wilocity. “The Wilocity team will build upon Qualcomm’s strengths and leadership to collaboratively deliver innovative wireless technology for mobile, computing and networking customers to address the needs of an increasingly connected world. We are excited to join forces to take our 60 GHz vision to the next level and scale.”

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Jason Harris

Jason Harris

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