Synaptics CEO Aims for AI on Edge Devices - Eetasia.com

Article By : Alan Patterson

Synaptics CEO Michael Hurlston rescued the spot decorator from the illness of a billion-dollar–plus concern erstwhile it mislaid Apple arsenic a lawsuit a fewer years ago. Now, Synaptics has assembled a caller tech portfolio aimed astatine plan wins that adhd AI to borderline IoT devices.

The company, founded 36 years agone by manufacture luminaries Carver Mead and Federico Faggin, has created overmuch of the exertion down touchpads, fingerprint sensors and show drivers. Through acquisitions successful the past fewer years, Synaptics is processing caller chips for maturation markets similar IoT successful virtual world and EVs.

“One of the things we privation to spell into is artificial quality astatine the borderline of a network,” Hurlston told EE Times. “We privation to marque decisions connected the spot alternatively than spell backmost to the information halfway and usage precocious compute and precocious bandwidth.”

Synaptics is inactive harnessing the nonstop algorithms that would tally connected its chips.

“We request algorithms and machine-learning models,” Hurlston said. “We’re making strides successful solving that occupation with this Emza acquisition.”

In October, the institution bought Emza Visual Sense, an Israeli AI developer. Synaptics is sampling its archetypal spot that incorporates Emza’s AI.

“The exertion is beingness successful beforehand of a PC wherever the PC — to prevention powerfulness — volition crook disconnected if you locomotion away,” Hurlston said. “One of the large things that radical get disquieted astir is privacy. If idiosyncratic is looking implicit your shoulder, it tin besides consciousness that and dim the surface and enactment it into privateness mode.”

Hurlston isn’t yet satisfied with the results, noting, “We request immoderate enactment connected it.”

The AI runs connected Synaptics’ Katana chip, the archetypal mentation of which was released astir 2 years ago. In summation to ocular sensing, Katana does audio, somesthesia and biology sensing.

Synaptics is counting connected IoT, its main business, to support driving income up. Yet enlargement of the wide IoT spot concern volition dilatory from the beardown maturation of erstwhile years, according to marketplace probe steadfast Gartner.

Acquisition trail

Hurlston joined Synaptics arsenic CEO successful August 2019. The institution has since bought 3 different firms that provender into the company’s IoT and wireless connectivity business, including DisplayLink and DSP Group. DisplayLink exertion enables displays to link to immoderate machine that supports USB oregon Wi-Fi. DSP Group adds dependable processing and wireless exertion to the mix. The 3rd acquisition includes the assets and manufacturing rights associated with the erstwhile wireless IoT concern of Broadcom. Hurlston antecedently ran the wireless part astatine Broadcom.

Synaptics is the backbone of astir information systems, including those sold by ADT, helium said. “Those acquisitions benignant of fueled that.”

Synaptics’ acquired IoT businesses person had “astronomical” maturation rates, Hurlston said, adding that the company’s interior IoT businesses grew astatine rates of up to 40% during the Covid pandemic. “You had a batch of maturation drivers wherever radical were bringing gadgets into the home, and we were beneficiaries of that.”

IoT information is simply a vulnerability that Synaptics aims to code with its borderline AI push.

“One of the thrusts is to marque much decisions section to the instrumentality itself by not transmitting accusation backmost and forth, for example, to a information halfway oregon anyplace else,” Hurlston said. “You’re contained wrong that ecosystem, and truthful the quality to hack is overmuch lower. Hacks are happening arsenic accusation is transmitted crossed the net oregon crossed the wireless link.”

When Synaptics devices are transmitting implicit Wi-Fi oregon Bluetooth, they usage modular information protocols.

“We person the industry’s champion information successful our Wi-Fi chips, the astir precocious information that determination is,” helium asserted.

Hit by Apple

Before Hurlston joined Synaptics, the institution had what helium calls “an outsized dependence connected Apple” that made astir $1.6 cardinal successful yearly revenue. “Almost each the gross really was coming from lone 1 socket astatine Apple, which we knew was going away.”

Synaptics was supplying a show operator for Apple iPhones until the smartphone shaper decided to power from LCDs to OLEDs arsenic the display. In that transition, Synaptics mislaid the socket to OLED solid supplier Samsung, which besides makes show drivers.

“Mobile successful the semiconductor satellite from 2005 to astir apt 2015 was truly the spot to be,” Hurlston said. “Mobile was increasing similar crazy. Everybody wanted a smartphone. Probably 2015, 2016, the satellite turned, and suddenly, mobile wasn’t truthful attractive.”

Synaptics has had to diversify its portfolio.

“We evidently similar Apple arsenic a customer, possibly not connected the mobile telephone side, but their PC concern and gadget business,” helium said. “We surely proceed to look for ways to prosecute those guys. We’d emotion to spot if determination are ways to prosecute them connected PCs oregon connected immoderate of their IoT devices.”

Apple is by acold the biggest spender successful the semiconductor market, Hurlston said. Synaptics continues to number different ample names similar Amazon and Google among its customers successful smart-home products.

Synaptics synergies

If you look astatine platforms alternatively than conscionable technologies, you commencement to spot immoderate of the synergies astatine enactment successful Synaptics, Hurlston said.

“We deliberation a batch astir platforms, and video conferencing is one. The PC introduction constituent — docking stations oregon wireless monitors — is different level wherever we tin bundle aggregate technologies together.”

Synaptics supplies chips for docking stations to Dell.

The company’s caller conception is to marque a wireless docking presumption that applies respective Synaptics technologies. Synaptics envisions wireless monitors that would destruct each carnal connections but for a powerfulness cord.

Video-conferencing systems are different opportunity, Hurlston said, noting that his institution has the indispensable dependable implicit net protocol (VoIP) technology, arsenic good arsenic exertion to play backmost video.

Automotive is simply a increasing concern for Synaptics.

“Here, we’re combining 2 of our historical technologies going into a wholly antithetic extremity market, and that is interaction exertion and the show operator technology,” Hurlston said. “We’re capable to spell and use that to these larger screens that are coming successful the automobile, chiefly for infotainment.”

Inventory correction

Synaptics expects to look from an industry-wide inventory correction during the 2nd 4th of 2023. Despite the slump, the institution predicted during its astir caller net telephone that gross borderline volition enactment astatine astir 61%.

The institution is already seeing betterment successful the Chinese smartphone business. The PC concern is expected to rebound next, followed by user electronics.

“We deliberation net-net, we commencement clicking connected each of those businesses by the 2nd fractional of adjacent calendar year,” Hurlston said.

The manufacture slump has caused Synaptics’ spot foundries to driblet prices by arsenic overmuch arsenic low-single-digit percentages successful caller months.

As a effect of its caller acquisitions, Synaptics has 10 foundry suppliers. Hurlston aims to trim that fig to 2 to summation greater pricing power.

“Our predominant foundry feline is TSMC [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.], and they’re the largest supplier to us, but we enactment with GlobalFoundries, UMC [United Microelectronics Corp.], PowerChip, Silterra — the database goes connected and on.”

Synaptics wouldn’t past without TSMC, but UMC has besides been a bully partner, Hurlston said: “We bash person a batch of specialty processes. Our automotive requires a high-voltage process, and we’ve truly been pleasantly amazed with UMC. They’ve done a bully occupation for america connected ultra-high voltage. That would beryllium a narration that we’d astir apt look to grow implicit the coming years.”

Synaptics chiefly uses trailing nodes ranging from 28 nm to 130 nm.

“Chips that we marque similar show drivers oregon interaction circuits oregon adjacent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo devices are precise dense analog,” helium said. “With those, you bash not get economies of standard arsenic you determination down the process. Our analog circuits are truly complex, and down astatine 7 nm, sometimes you conscionable can’t get them to work.”

This nonfiction was primitively published on EE Times.

Alan Patterson has worked arsenic an electronics writer successful Asia for astir of his career. In summation to EE Times, helium has been a newsman and an exertion for Bloomberg News and Dow Jones Newswires. He has lived for much than 30 years successful Hong Kong and Taipei and has covered tech companies successful the greater China portion during that time.