Silicon Image bets big on mobile HD link tech
Nasdaq-listed Silicon Image Inc is betting big on its mobile high-definition link (MHL) standard, an interface that directly connects mobile phones and other portable consumer electronics devices to HD televisions and displays.
“Launched two years ago, our MHL technology has now started showing results, with approximately 50 million MHL-enabled smartphones being shipped in 2011. We expect this to touch 100 million units this year,” Camillo Martino, chief executive officer of Silicon Image, told mediapersons here on Friday.
Silicon Image is a provider of wireless and wired high-definition (HD) connectivity solutions for consumer electronics, mobile and PC markets.
The MHL technology features a single-cable with a five-pin interface that enables to support HD video and digital audio while simultaneously providing power to the mobile device.
Industry experts expect around 600 million smartphones to be shipped in 2012, and exceed one billion units in a year from then. “Our vision is to have MHL in every smartphone – through the company and partners – in the next five years,” Rashid Osmani, vice president (worldwide engineering), said, adding the company saw tremendous opportunity for MHL in India, which has a large consumer base for TVs and mobile devices.
Silicon Image, which reported $221 million in revenues in 2011, derives 80-85 per cent from silicon chips with intellectual property (IP) licences constituting the rest. It has 377 US-issued and 461 pending patents.
Announcing the launch of the company’s R&D centre in Hyderabad on Sunday, its third globally with the other two being at its US headquarters Sunnyvale and Shanghai in China, Osmani said the new centre would focus on design and development of semiconductor and IP core technologies for implementation in mobile, wireless and consumer electronics devices.
“The Hyderabad centre is working in close collaboration with the other two centres and is already contributing to our global IP portfolio. Probably in two to three years, this centre will develop some unique products for the local market,” he said.
Silicon Image employs 600 globally, including 80 at the Hyderabad centre. “We plan to double the headcount here in the next couple of years,” he said.
The company, which had acquired Sibeam for $25.5 million in April last year, is looking for strategic buyouts, including in India. “We are looking for acquisitions that fit our long-term connectivity. It could happen in India also if the opportunity presents itself,” he said while declining to comment further.
Through the acquisition, Sibeam’s 60Ghz-based WirelessHD technology came into Silicon Image’s fold. The company is now targeting its WirelessHD to the mobile and tablets market, Martino said, adding the company was driving innovation into the emerging ultra HD (UHD) market and that the silicon samples would come out in the later part of this year.