Sequans Sells 4G IoT Technology to Qualcomm in $200 Million Deal
The deal sparks company stock growth by 200 percent
Strengthening its industrial IoT portfolio, Qualcomm QCOM 0.00%↑ last week purchased Sequans’ SQNS 0.00%↑ 4G IoT for $200 million. The deal’s terms call for France-based Sequans to receive $185 million in cash, with $175 million coming at closing and as much as $10 million after a one-year warranty.
Sequans, which will retain its 5G IoT technology, saw its shares jump dramatically after the announcement. Overall, the transaction is subject regulatory closing conditions and French government approval.
Qualcomm said the acquisition includes certain employees, assets and licenses. However, through a license agreement, Sequans will retain rights to continue to use the technology commercially.
“Digital transformation is being driven by high-performance processing and intelligence at the edge, positioning Qualcomm for growth in one of the largest addressable opportunities,” said Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm’s group general manager, automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and cloud computing, in a statement. “This acquisition of Sequans’ 4G IoT technology adds to Qualcomm’s broad portfolio, further strengthening our offerings across enterprise customers of low-power solutions for reliable, optimized cellular connectivity for industrial IoT applications.”
For its part, and aside from the company’s stock jumping 200 percent, the Qualcomm deal looks to be a solid one for Sequans. Last year, Location Business News reported that the company was set to be purchased by Japan-based Renesas Electronics for $249 million. However, earlier this year, this deal fell apart as Renesas said it would take a big tax hit if it purchased the company.
Sequans has championed IoT tracking with cellular and low-power GNSS, particularly to mitigate loss from theft. The company marketed its IoT trackers for such applications as luggage, wallets, bikes, motorcycles, automobiles, industrial pallets, fleets, farm animals and shipping containers, to name a few.
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Cruise Robotaxis To Be Offered on Uber's Platform
Uber Technologies UBER 0.00%↑ and General Motors’ GM 0.00%↑ Cruise late last week announced a multiyear partnership that will bring robotaxis to the rideshare platform. The companies, which plan to launch the partnership next year, will offer a number of Chevy Bolt-based autonomous vehicles to prospective riders.
Riders will have the option to get a car with a driver or an autonomous vehicle when they request an Uber ride.
“As the largest mobility and delivery platform, we believe Uber can play an important role in helping to safely and reliably introduce autonomous technology to consumers and cities around the world,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, in a statement.
Uber, which has operated driverless cars with Waymo in Phoenix since last year, sold its robotaxi division in 2020. To save money and concentrate on its core ridesharing business, Uber sold its own robotaxi division in 2020.
For its part, Cruise is trying to get back after an accident in San Francisco caused it to stop operations and recall vehicles. Last week the company recalled 1,200 robotaxis because of braking problem. However, it has resumed testing in Phoenix, Houston and Dallas this summer.
Cruise has stiff competition, not only from Chinese companies, but from Waymo, which has nearly 700 driverless cars on the road. In addition, Telsa TSLA 0.00%↑ CEO Elon Musk plans to unveil its own robotaxi in October.
In other Uber news:
Uber said it is partnering with with U.K. artificial intelligence startup Wayve.
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We’re Taking a Break…We’ll Be Back Sept. 12
We are taking a break as the Sept. 2 Labor Day holiday falls during our issue week. We will be back with full coverage of industry news on Sept. 12. We are exploring a half-day location marketing conferences before large trade shows next year. Please contact me at kdennehy@driverlessreport.com if you are interested in attending or sponsoring. In the meantime, check out our website, www.locationbusinessnews.com, for breaking news and an archive of past stories.
Verizon Launches Emergency Messaging, Location-Sharing Service with Skylo Technologies
Verizon VZ 0.00%↑ has partnered with Skylo Technologies for an emergency messaging and location-sharing service on select Google Pixel and Samsung phones this fall. Next year, Verizon said it would offer text via satellite for select devices.
In addition to Verizon, Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ rolled out Emergency SOS in 2022 with its iPhone 14. Apple, with iOS 18, is planning to add satellite capabilities to iMessage on iPhone 14 smartphones.
Interestingly, Google GOOG 0.00%↑ is also working with Skylo for satellite connectivity. The internet giant has partnered with Garmin GRMN 0.00%↑ to operate Satellite SOS on the Pixel 9 series. Garmin said in a press release that it handles thousands of SOS activations.
What hasn’t been written about much in the consumer business press is that Verizon really is hitting the enterprise satellite IoT market hard with announcements like the one with Skylo.
“Verizon’s network boasts an exceptionally large terrestrial cellular network and covers more than 99 percent of the population in the United States. However, there are occasional enterprise needs for IoT devices in places where people don’t live or regularly visit,” said Srini Kalapala, Verizon’s senior vice president of fechnology and product development, in a statement. “Satellite IoT in combination with Verizon’s terrestrial assets creates the perfect combination for IoT solutions in the most remote parts of the country and over land, air and sea without having to use a separate physical device.”
Verizon cited IoT roaming capability that is critical for transportation, agriculture, maritime, environmental monitoring, and asset tracking. The company cited agriculture and asset tracking for the ability to roam on satellite networks—even in the ocean.
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Other Location News
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories. Location Business News is looking for your company’s product use cases to feature in each issue. Send us five paragraphs and an image/photo for consideration. Include a contact name, phone, email and web address.
Top News:
📌 Mandated Anti-Speeding Tech For New Vehicles Begins In Europe. “Starting Monday, every new vehicle sold in Europe must be equipped with an ISA system., according to a directive by European Commission’s European Road Safety Charter. The move comes two years after the body made ISA mandatory for new models/types of vehicles introduced on the continent.”
😮 US Leaders Have Been Warned to Focus on GPS and PNT To Protect the Nation. “A four-page memo sent July 19 to the Deputy Secretaries of Defense and Transportation from retired Admiral Thad Allen, chair of the President’s National Space-based PNT Advisory Board.”
💲 Viasat Awarded $153 Million DISA Contract for Blue Force Tracker 2 Support Services. “Viasat VSAT 0.00%↑ has received a potential five-year, $153.4 million contract from the Defense Information Systems Agency to provide support services for Project Manager Mission Command’s Blue Force Tracker 2 requirement.”
🚚 Continental, Samsara Partner on Data-Driven Fleet Management Solutions. “The companies aim to focus on truck trailers by putting Samsara's IOT 0.00%↑ telematics data and Continental's in-tire sensor readings into one system.”
🛰 LEO Satellites Enhance GPS Accuracy Through Ground Station Integration. “The study details how the integration of regional ground station data with LEO satellite measurements can significantly enhance GPS orbit determination.”
⚡ New Laser Could Cram GPS Alternative Into a Shoebox. “Atom interferometers are examples of quantum sensors, which rely on the strange phenomena that emerge at the universe’s tiniest scales.”
🤨 Spire Global Update on New Contracts, Receives NYSE Notice Regarding Late Filing. “The delay in the filing of the Form 10-Q is due to the company requiring additional time to prepare and complete its financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024.”
👉 CalAmp Gets Grant for Vehicle Crash Determination System Using Telematics and Sensors. “CalAmp has been granted a patent for a vehicle telematics system that determines crash likelihood using sensor data. The system calculates a crash score based on vehicle acceleration and transmits data to a remote server for further analysis, confirming if a crash has occurred.”
Maps:
👍 TomTom Gets Grant for Method for Generating Scenic Ratings on Electronic Maps. “TomTom has been granted a patent for a method that generates scenic ratings for electronic map segments. This involves analyzing probe data from multiple devices, filtering it based on transport mode and traversal time, and using the resulting data to assess and assign scenic ratings to navigable elements on the map.”
🚗 Tesla's Navigation Gets Huge Improvement With Simple Update. “According to Not a Tesla App, Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ has added Construction to the in-car Nav, helping drivers recognize potential roadwork on their preferred route, which usually causes delays.”
🗺 Data-Driven Styling for Boundaries and Datasets Is Now Generally Available on Google Maps. “[Google Maps has announced] the general availability of data-driven styling across platforms, including data-driven styling for boundaries on iOS and Android and data-driven styling for datasets for the Maps JavaScript API, iOS, and Android.”
📲 Here's Why More People Choose Google Maps Over Waze and the Difference Nobody Talks About. “Google Maps and Waze have different ways of taking you to the destination. They both look for the fastest route, which may be the same or not, but Waze will do everything to get you there as quickly as possible.”
🚘 Overture Maps at AGL All Member Meeting: Collaborative Mapping To Shape the Future of Software-Defined Vehicles. “The event highlighted the transformative potential of collaborative mapping in the era of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and cloud-centric development.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
🚖 Waymo Expands in Los Angeles After Extensive Santa Monica Testing. “This month, autonomous riding service Waymo announced a major expansion across the Los Angeles area, increasing the range of self-driving cars to 79 square miles across the city.”
🚍 Tesla Semi Seen Testing Full-Self Driving Near Giga Nevada. “While Tesla’s electric semi-trucks feature hardware capable of using Autopilot and FSD, the system is still being configured for the Semi, and these tests could well be part of that development.”
🚌 ChargePoint, Daimler Buses Partner to Integrate Charge Management, Telematics. “ChargePoint, a provider of networked charging solutions for electric vehicles, has partnered with Daimler Buses to seamlessly integrate ChargePoint’s telematics and charge management systems with Mercedes-Benz and Setra brand buses.”
😧 16,000 Test Licenses for Autonomous Vehicles Issued in China. No problems testing autonomous vehicles in China…
🙄 Drivers Hate The Tech In Their Cars. “For the most part, drivers find the technology in their cars to be pretty useless.”
👉 LG's V2X Solution for Volkswagen Receives Certification for Security Stability.
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
PP-Solution and Swift Navigation Partner
Swift Navigation has announced that GNSS manufacturer PP-Solution has Swift’s Skylark Precise Positioning Service into their receivers. The companies say they hope to streamline the development of new products in such industries as logistics, robotics, drones, and autonomous driving.
Skylark supports more than 10 million ADAS-enabled and autonomous vehicles globally. For its part, PP-Solution offers multi-frequency GNSS receivers, such as RTAP2U, RTK2U, and RTAP3M.
Contact: Swift Navigation, www.swiftnav.com/skylark to learn more.
Company Sells 1,000 Units to Customer in “Western Europe”
Israel-based infiniDome has announced a new deal with “a key customer in Western Europe.” The deal, of which financial details were not disclosed, includes more than 1,000 units, the company said.
The company, which says its technology is being demonstrated in the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, offers its GPSdome, GPSdome OEM and GPSdome2. The GPSdome units are designed to protect UAVs, drones, ground vehicles, and critical infrastructure from GPS electronic warfare attacks, the company said.
Contact: Nadav Regev, infiniDome, nadav@infinidome.com, www.infinidome.com.
CGSIC in Baltimore Sept. 16-17
The 64th meeting of the U.S. government’s Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC), hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center, will be Sept. 16-17 at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor. The Keynote speaker for this year's CGSIC plenary session will be Coast Guard Rear Admiral Wayne Arguin. To register, go to https://forms.office.com/g/J4N1z0cMU0?origin=lprLink.
Contact: Rick Hamilton, U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center, (703) 313-5930.
Locus Lock Partners With Xona Space Systems
Locus Lock has partnered with Xona Space Systems to develop an advanced receiver that optimizes the performance of Xona's PULSAR service. Locus Lock provides a software-defined GNSS receiver suited for both commercial and military applications, the company said.
Locus Lock’s technology is designed for a wide range of applications, including vehicles navigating dense urban areas, agriculture & construction, UAVs, high-speed aircraft, and defense applications.
Contact: Xona Space Systems, info@xonaspace.com, www.xonaspace.com.
UP42 Partners With Planet Labs PBC
UP42 has partnered with Planet Labs PBC PL 0.00%↑ to integrate Planet SkySat’s 15 satellites with its optical data portfolio. UP42’s platform allows customers access to Planet’s data, including sub-daily collections in some areas, the company said.
This data enables energy and infrastructure monitoring, vegetation management, precision agriculture, transportation planning, emergency and security apps and others.
Contact: Dobrina Laleva, UP42, dobrina.laleva@up42.com, www.up42.com.
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Digital Matter Launches IoT-Focused Website
Digital Matter has launched of its newly designed website that is dedicated to their IoT data logger and sensor monitoring solutions. The new website, sense.digitalmatter.com, serves as a centralized platform for IoT sensor monitoring solutions, the company said.
The website features use cases of The Hawk product line. The Hawk data logger provides wide range of IoT remote monitoring applications, the company said.
Contact: Shay Kettner, Digital Matter, shay@digitalmatter.com, www.digital matter.com.
Flash Parking Now on Waze
Flash has announced the U.S. release of parking transactions on Waze that was developed in collaboration with the navigation app. Waze joins Google Search and Google Maps in Flash’s growing portfolio of integrations that features parking options with the largest parking operators and owners, the company said.
When drivers enter their destinations in Waze, the app now suggests nearby parking locations, the company said. Drivers can see such information as cost, amenities, wheelchair-accessibility and valet options.
Contact: Flash, www.flashparking.com.
New Garmin Enduro 3 GPS Smartwatch
Garmin GRMN 0.00%↑ has launched the Enduro 3 GPS smartwatch that is lighter than ever and can last for longer than the previous model thanks to a solar charging display, the company said. Enduro 3 weighs 63 grams and features up to 320 hours in GPS mode with solar charging.
The smartwatch features enhanced navigation to set a target destination for a run, hike or bike ride and receive dynamic round-trip routing that continually adjusts the route to stay on schedule, the company said. In addition,terrain contours on TopoActive maps and preloaded maps for thousands of golf courses and ski resorts around the world are included
Contact: Stephanie Schultz, Garmin, (913) 397-8200, media.relations@garmin.com.
People
CalAmp has appointed Thomas Ayers as general manager of its Edge Device business.
Jobs
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GNSS Product Manager. JAVAD GNSS.
Corporate Counsel. Aeris Communications.
Manager II – Geospatial Data Engineering. TomTom.
Senior Marketing Specialist. Geotab.
Program Manager. Swift Navigation.
Software Engineering Manager, GNSS Corrections. Swift Navigation.
Android Developer - GNSS and Sensor Fusion. Zephr.
Careers. Transportation Research Board.
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