Intel picks up NoC specialist NetSpeed

Intel has announced the acquisition of NetSpeed Systems, a Californian company specialising in design tools for system-on-chip (SoC) devices and interconnect fabric intellectual property (IP) - an indication that the company is looking towards more heavily integrated designs itself.

Founded in 2011, NetSpeed has made something of a name for itself in the provision of network-on-chip (NoC) intellectual property for system-on-chip (SoC) designers. As well as tools for generating front-end designs, the company's offerings include systems for programmable, synthesisable high-performance interconnect fabrics - the sort of thing you need if you're tying multiple processor cores or even multiple processor dies together and need to ensure high-speed low-latency communication between them.

The company is well-known to Intel: In fact, Intel already uses its products, and now has announced it is acquiring the company outright. 'Intel has been a great customer of NetSpeed's, and I'm thrilled to once again be joining the company,' says NetSpeed co-founder and chief executive Sundari Mitra, a former Intel chip designer herself. 'Intel is world-class at designing and optimising the performance of custom silicon at scale. As part of Intel's Silicon Engineering Group [SEG], we're excited to help invent new products that will be a foundation for computing's future.'

'Intel is designing more products with more specialised features than ever before, which is incredibly exciting for Intel architects and for our customers,' adds Intel's Jim Keller, who will be overseeing Mitra in her role leading the NetSpeed team as part of Intel's SEG. 'The challenge is synthesising a broader set of IP blocks for optimal performance while reining in design time and cost. NetSpeed's proven network-on-chip technology addresses this challenge, and we're excited to now have their IP and expertise in-house.'

Neither Intel nor NetSpeed have disclosed terms of the deal, nor how it will affect NetSpeed's other customers.