IC combines RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.4 IP with SKAIChips inhouse RF/Power/Analog/AI expertise to achieve lowest power draw, critical for ESL tags and related industrial applications

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceva, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of silicon and software IP that enables Smart Edge devices to connect, sense and infer data more reliably and efficiently, announced today that SKAIChips Co. Ltd., a leading innovator in low power wireless technologies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has licensed the RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.4 IP for the development of an Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) IC. Global technology intelligence firm ABI Research forecasts that the ESL market will grow from nearly 185 million annual shipments in 2022 to nearly 560 million units by 2027, with Bluetooth-enabled ESLs accounting for a growing portion of the overall market.

SKAIChips was established in 2019 with the mission to provide highly innovative and intelligent ICs that help deliver on the promise of the 4^th industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. The company has significant in-house expertise in RF/Power/Analog/AI, which is synergistic to Ceva's portfolio of IPs that enable devices to connect, sense and infer data. By leveraging Ceva's Bluetooth SIG qualified Bluetooth 5.4 IP to expedite its time to market, SKAIChips can develop a cost-efficient, feature-rich ESL IC with minimal power draw. Moreover, Ceva and SKAIChips are collaborating on the Channel Sounding feature which will be introduced in a future generation of the Bluetooth standard to deliver enhanced accuracy and security for positioning applications spanning automotive, industrial and broader IoT markets.

"SKAIChips is committed to providing customers with robust, intelligent ICs that enable innovative products for the industrial market," said Kang-Yoon Lee, CEO of SKAIChips. "We are honored to collaborate with Ceva and deploy their Bluetooth 5.4 platform for our ESL chip, ensuring best-in-class connectivity and feature set that create exceptional value for our customers."

"We're excited to welcome SKAIChips to the Ceva Bluetooth ecosystem, and further extend our reach into the high-growth industrial markets," said Tal Shalev, Vice President and General Manager, Wireless IoT Business Unit at Ceva. "SKAIChips is an innovative and exciting company that brings considerable expertise in low power RF that perfectly complements our Bluetooth IP. The ESL space offers enormous potential and we look forward to monitoring SKAIChips progress as they enter this market enabled by our best-in-class Bluetooth 5.4 IP."

Ceva's RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.4 is the first IP platform to achieve Bluetooth SIG qualification that includes all features of the standard, including Periodic Advertising with Responses (PAwR) and Encrypted Advertising Data (EAD), both of which are required to address the Electronic Shelf Label market opportunity. Smart Retail is increasingly adopting ESLs that contain information such as pricing, offers and promotions, inventory status, and product details. This adoption will be greatly accelerated by the availability of a low cost, standard-based communication technology. With Bluetooth 5.4, the mature Bluetooth connectivity technology is enhanced to deliver an optimized, secure and energy-efficient network to accommodate potentially thousands of ESLs and other authenticated devices, delivering substantial real-world economic benefits in the process.

For more information, visit: https://www.ceva-ip.com/product/rivierawaves-bluetooth-platforms/

About SKAIChips
Headquartered in Suwon, South Korea, SKAIChips is focused on the development of advanced wireless power solution with AI. Founded in April 2019, Sung Kyun Kwan University (SKKU) Integrated Circuit Lab (Advisor: Prof. Kang-Yoon Lee)-based company that designs innovative ICs and supplies and develops products for industrial demand, SKAIChips has RF/Power/Analog/AI solutions and has been constantly growing since its foundation. For more information, visit www.skaichips.co.kr.

About Ceva, Inc.
At Ceva, we are passionate about bringing new levels of innovation to the smart edge. Our wireless communications, sensing and Edge AI technologies are at the heart of some of today's most advanced smart edge products. From Bluetooth connectivity, Wi-Fi, UWB and 5G platform IP for ubiquitous, robust communications, to scalable Edge AI NPU IPs, sensor fusion processors and embedded application software that make devices smarter, we have the broadest portfolio of IP to connect, sense and infer data more reliably and efficiently. We deliver differentiated solutions that combine outstanding performance at ultra-low power within a very small silicon footprint. Our goal is simple – to deliver the silicon and software IP to enable a smarter, safer, and more interconnected world. This philosophy is in practice today, with Ceva powering more than 17 billion of the world's most innovative smart edge products from AI-infused smartwatches, IoT devices and wearables to autonomous vehicles and 5G mobile networks.

Our headquarters are in Rockville, Maryland with a global customer base supported by operations worldwide. Our employees are among the leading experts in their areas of specialty, consistently solving the most complex design challenges, enabling our customers to bring innovative smart edge products to market.

Ceva: Powering the Smart Edge^™

Visit us at www.ceva-ip.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

SOURCE Ceva, Inc.