 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductors Communications |
| Founded | 1998; 27 years ago (1998) (as Cambridge Silicon Radio) |
| Defunct | 14 August 2015 (2015-08-14) |
| Fate | Acquired byQualcomm |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, England, U.K. |
Key people | Ron Mackintosh (chairman) Joep van Beurden (CEO) Will Gardiner (CFO) |
| Products | Fabless semiconductor that included connectivity, audio, imaging andGPS chips |
| Revenue | US$774.8 million (2014)[1] |
| US$97.0 million (2014)[1] | |
| US$96.8 million (2014)[1] | |
| Website | csr |
CSR plc (formerlyCambridge Silicon Radio) was amultinationalfabless semiconductor company headquartered inCambridge, United Kingdom. Its main products were connectivity, audio, imaging and location chips. CSR was listed on theLondon Stock Exchange and was a constituent of theFTSE 250 Index until it was acquired byQualcomm in August 2015. Under Qualcomm's ownership, the company was renamed Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd.
The company was founded in 1998 and split away fromCambridge Consultants asCambridge Silicon Radio or CSR in 1999. The founding directors, who were all at Cambridge Consultants at the time werePhil O'Donovan,[2]James Collier and Glenn Collinson.[3] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2004.[4]
In 2005 the company acquired Clarity Technologies, a leading clear voice capture (CVC) business[5] and UbiNetics, a 3G wireless (WCDMA/UMTS/HSDPA) technology company.[6] In 2007, CSR acquired Nordnav, a Swedish-basedGPS software company, and CPS, a Cambridge-based GPS software company producingEnhanced GPS in partnership with Motorola.[7]
In February 2009, CSR announced it was merging withSiRF, the biggest global supplier of GPS chips, in a share deal worth $136 million;[8] in July 2010, CSR announced the acquisition of Belfast-based APT Licensing Ltd. (APT) and itsaptX audio technology[9] and in February 2011, CSR announced it was merging withZoran, a video and imaging technology company.[10]
In May 2012, CSR acquired Direct Digital Feedback Amplifier (DDFA) technology, a proprietary, highly scalable digital Class-D audio amplifier technology;[11] in June 2012, CSR announced that it had acquired the MAPX (formerly MAP-X) audio product line fromTrident Microsystems, Inc[12] and in July 2012,Samsung Electronics agreed to acquire CSR's mobile phone connectivity (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) and location (GPS/GNSS) businesses and associated IP for US$310 million (£198 million).[13] As part of the deal Samsung acquired a stake of 4.9% in CSR.[13]
In June 2014, CSR acquired the people and technology of Reciva, a networked audio streaming platform, for US$5 million[14] and in October 2014, the acquisition of CSR byQualcomm for $2.5 billion was agreed.[15] The transaction was completed in August 2015.[16]
CSR's products included platform solutions forBluetooth,GPS,FM broadcasting,Wi-Fi, audio, imaging, andARM processors.[17] After the Zoran merger, CSR also made digital imaging products based on theMIPS architecture.[18][19]
CSR had 27 offices in 13 countries:
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