Apple acquires another chip design company

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 28 April 2010 10:57

IT Industry - Deals

Apple has made another of its characteristically low-key acquisitions, buying chip design company Intrinsity.

There has been speculation that Apple was interested in acquiring Intrinsity, the company rumoured to have been involved in the design of the A4 chip used in the iPad.

The speculation began early this month, and - according to multiple reports - has now been confirmed by Apple.

The purchase price has not been disclosed, but an analyst quoted by the New York Times asserted the deal was worth $US121 million.

Intrinsity joins PA Semi in the Apple stable. Both organisations have expertise in the design of ARM processors.

The Intrinsity web site was offline at the time of writing.

As previously reported, Apple maintains a huge 'war chest', putting it in a strong position when acquisition opportunities arise. At the end of the company's second fiscal quarter (approximately calendar 1Q10), the company held over $US10 billion in cash and equivalents.