NXP expands cooperation with Korean security startups

NXP Semiconductors NV, a global leading automotive chipmaker, is expanding partnerships with South Korean security startups to secure new semiconductor security technologies for vehicles amid the rapid development in automotive electronics technologies.

The Nasdaq-listed company recently agreed with Ciot Co., a startup specializing in connected car security, to collaborate on security solutions for automotive over-the-air programming (OTA), the wireless delivery or update of new software, firmware or other data to mobile devices.

The technology, which had often been previously used in a limited way for gadgets such as navigators, is becoming more widely applied to various automotive electronics including the advanced driving assistance system (ADAS). Security is essential for OTA, given the risks of hacking during wireless transmission.

Ciot and NXP plan to add OTA security functions to the next version of the semiconductor maker’s Radar Processor, automotive chipset solutions that collectively detect data on vehicle surroundings for functions such as long-range front radars, simultaneous blind spot monitoring and lane change assistance. The startup is scheduled to apply its security software and hardware to the processor.

Ciot, founded in 2015, has already been working with suppliers of Hyundai Motor Group’s automotive electronics parts. In July 2021, the startup signed deals with those vendors to develop OTA security solutions for the acoustic vehicle alerting system (AVAS), a legal requirement for electric vehicles in many countries. The system generates sound for almost silent EVs to enhance the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and children.

Hyundai Motor Group will apply the OTA security solutions to its EVs including the IONIQ 5.

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NXP, spun off from Dutch multinational conglomerate Philips in 2006, is the world’s top player in the automotive semiconductor sector, making core products such as microcontroller units (MCUs) and application processors (APs).

NXP with a current market capitalization of $44.9 billion has often been mentioned as one of Samsung Electronics Co.’s potential takeover targets along with UK-based chip designer ARM Holdings and German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG.

Samsung, the world’s No. 1 memory chipmaker, was understood to have withdrawn its bid for NXP last year due to the high price tag and potential antitrust issues, according to industry sources.

NXP has been actively working with South Korean startups. In 2020, the company signed a technology partnership deal with Autocrypt Co., an autonomous driving security startup.

Self-driving requires vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology that passes information from a car to any entity affecting the car and vice versa. The V2X is also vulnerable to hacking.

Autocrypt, founded in 2019, provides its own technology that enables real-time communications at a speed of more than 2,000 times a second. The venture company raised 32.5 billion won ($24.8 million) in a Series B funding round on Aug. 2 as investors recognized the value of its technology.

Write to See-Eun Lee at see@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.