RDA Microelectronics Signs Digital TV IP License and Development Agreement With Trident Microsystems

RDA Microelectronics

today announced that it has signed an IP license and development agreement with Trident Microsystems. According to the terms of the agreement, RDA will pay US$16.0 million in cash to secure a non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferrable license to develop, manufacture and sell derivative versions of the Trident SX5 Digital TV SoC platform for a period of 10 years. "We are pleased to have entered into this agreement, positioning RDA to expand into the TV market and replicate the success we have achieved in the mobile handset market. We have taken advantage of a unique opportunity to license some of the best TV-related IP and patents available in the market today," commented Vincent Tai, chairman and CEO of RDA Microelectronics. "Licensing these technologies from Trident provides RDA a solid foundation to begin developing products for the TV and display markets. We anticipate it will require around two years of development to launch our first product, which we believe is approximately half the time it would have taken if we had internally developed the technology on our own. "Our expansion into the TV market will be a strong complement to our handset business. The TV development and manufacturing eco-system is increasingly becoming Asia-centric, as the production of TVs is now dominated by non-Japan Asia manufacturers. Semiconductor suppliers in the region can leverage their geographic proximity and cost advantages to gain market share, and we think RDA can compete quite effectively in this environment.