Synaptics Completes Acquisition of DisplayLink and Broadcom’s Wireless Business

July 31 2020, 05:10
Synaptics Inc from San Jose, CA - the same company that in 2017 acquired Conexant, one of the industry's leading audio and voice technology specialists - expanded even more it's connectivity lead with the just concluded acquisition of DisplayLink Corp., a leading supplier of universal docking solutions and high-performance video compression technology. This strategic expansion of Synaptics business happens just a few days after the acquisition of assets and manufacturing rights associated with the wireless connectivity business of Broadcom.
 

Synaptics is a pioneer and leading technology vendor in human interface solutions, with a broad portfolio of touch, display, biometrics, voice, audio, and multimedia solutions. As connectivity interfaces evolved and the world embraced wireless technologies, Synaptics' presence in all electronics industries from mobile, to computers the smart home, and automotive, increased exponentially.

Today, any audio product development manager will notice that Synaptics will be top of mind as a supplier in digital audio, and growing application areas like headphones and headsets with advanced, low-power, 24-bit and 32-bit high-resolution codecs, or the evolution towards voice interfaces. Synaptics is leading the industry transition away from analog audio with its powerful USB Type-C solutions combining power and digital audio, and leading in the evolution towards USB4. And Synaptics' AudioSmart USB-C codecs enable brands to deliver their own signature sound uniformly across all devices, while also delivering advanced features including voice control, active noise cancellation, noise suppression, wind noise cancellation, and smart voice pickup. 

The combination with DisplayLink, in addition to the recently completed acquisition of rights to Broadcom’s wireless connectivity portfolio, further accelerates Synaptics’ long-term diversification strategy in connectivity and extends its video interface market leadership.

“We are very excited to join forces with the DisplayLink team, the unquestioned leader in universal docking solutions,” says Michael Hurlston, president and CEO of Synaptics. “We expect to combine their innovative video compression technology with our existing video interface products as well as our new wireless solutions to build a roadmap second to none.”

DisplayLink’s high performance software compression technology enables universal docking and casting of high bandwidth video from any device to any display using any transport medium such as USB, Ethernet or Wi-Fi. For the Enterprise IT market, the solution supports multi-OS environments including Windows, MacOS, ChromeOS and Ubuntu Linux enabling a myriad of devices to seamlessly dock to multiple high resolution (4K, 8K) displays.
 

“Several market trends such as work from home (WFH), bring your own device (BYOD) and office hoteling coupled with the growing need for multiple, high resolution displays in enterprises are driving demand for universal docking and casting solutions,” adds Michael Hurlston.

Synaptics and DisplayLink combined roadmap is capable of delivering solutions that drive up to four 4K displays, adds support for emerging 8K/10K displays and the upcoming USB4 standard, and uniquely enables high-performance, dynamic wireless video docking and casting.

An example of Synaptics leadership in interface solutions are its latest Cayenne family of USB-C-based interfaces, the industry’s first to incorporate the latest HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 standards, integrating several components into a single-chip which lowers overall system costs for OEMs. Coupled with its ultra-low power consumption (<1W) that eliminates the need for cooling hardware, Cayenne chips enable smaller form factor designs for emerging travel docks, dongles, video-hubs and protocol converters. The solutions also offer strong security features, and are compatible with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB4 sources.

With the recent acquisition of Broadcom’s wireless IoT business, Synaptics gains an even stronger foothold on wireless connected devices, with best-in-class Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GNSS/GPS technologies. These are all strategic already in home automation, smart displays and speakers, media streamers, IP cameras, and automotive applications.

"Acquiring this technology, coupled with the recently announced deal with DisplayLink, gives us greater depth in our product portfolio and positions us to offer more to our existing customer base,” states Hurlston.
www.displaylink.com
www.synaptics.com
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About Joao Martins
Since 2013, Joao Martins leads audioXpress as editor-in-chief of the US-based magazine and website, the leading audio electronics, audio product development and design publication, working also as international editor for Voice Coil, the leading periodical for... Read more

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