Wie aus einer aktuellen Pressemitteilung der Bitboys und ATI hervorgeht, erwirbt ATI den finnischen Entwickler mobiler Grafiklösungen, die vorwiegend auf den Handymarkt abzielen.
ATI zahlt einen erfolgsabhängigen Kaufpreis von bis zu 35,2 Millionen Euro. Mit dieser Akquisition will ATI seine Stellung im Markt für mobile Endgeräte festigen. Die Bitboys sollen die Basis eines zukünftigen europäischen ATI Design Centers darstellen.
In die Schlagzeilen gerieten die Bitboys erstmals Ende der 90iger Jahre, als man vollmundig mit dem sogenannten Glaze3D einen "Über"-Grafikchip ankündigte, der die Konkurrenz von ATI, NVIDIA & Co. das Fürchten lehren sollte. Nach zahlreichen Termin-Verschiebungen und Überarbeitungen verlief sich das Projekt im Laufe der Jahre im Sande. Inzwischen haben sich die Bitboys auf die Entwicklung von Technologien für mobile Endgeräte spezialisiert.
ATI acquires Bitboys Oy, a leading developer of mobile graphics technology
Markham, Ontario - May 2, 2006-ATI Technologies Inc. (TSX:ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT) has acquired privately held Bitboys Oy, a 15-year veteran of the graphics industry for up to €35.2 million (about US$44 million). The final value is subject to certain performance-related conditions. Bitboys brings valuable engineering experience, technology and customer relationships that enhance ATI's existing mobile phone multimedia offerings. Based in Finland, the Bitboys team will be fully integrated in to ATI's Handheld Business Unit, and form the nucleus for a key design centre for ATI in Europe.
ATI is well-known in the mobile phone industry for providing high-performance graphics and multimedia solutions; this acquisition enhances ATI's product portfolio with a number of technologies, including OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics and OpenVG 1.0 2D vector graphics technologies optimized for high-volume mainstream mobile phones. These graphics cores will be supported by ATI's common software stack which covers its complete range of multimedia co-processors. This unified software environment allows developers to easily create content for a range of devices and offers mobile phone manufacturers faster time to market.
"ATI gives us what we need to reach the next level," said Mikko Saari, CEO, Bitboys. "Their market presence and ability to sell our products as part of a complete multimedia lineup will prove incredibly valuable to us. It's a classic win-win, realizing value for both companies."
"Bitboys dovetails into ATI perfectly," said Paul Dal Santo, GM of ATI's Handheld Business Unit. "Handsets are transitioning to hardware acceleration for graphics and multimedia, and the Bitboys team will play a critical role as we drive this key inflection point to make ATI the platform of choice for content providers."
Vector graphics is a vital component of a multimedia product lineup as it will become the standard for creating user interfaces on mobile devices. It's a very compact format that allows more graphics to be stored on a phone and for content to be distributed much more efficiently over mobile networks. In addition, vector graphics content automatically scales to any screen resolution so developers can deliver content across a range of devices without reworking all of the art assets.
About ATI Technologies ATI Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative 3D graphics, PC platform technologies and digital media silicon solutions. An industry pioneer since 1985, ATI is the world's foremost graphics processor unit (GPU) provider and is dedicated to deliver leading-edge performance solutions for the full range of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital television, game console and handheld device markets. With fiscal 2005 revenues of US $2.22 billion, ATI has more than 3,400 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).
About Bitboys Finland-based Bitboys develops and licenses graphics hardware IP solutions for various wireless and embedded devices. Bitboys graphics processors are specifically designed for power and size-restricted environments and are the outcome of 15 years of experience in graphics research and development. The first product line targeted for wireless and embedded devices has been available for licensing since July 2003. Bitboys currently employs over 40 dedicated graphics professionals. www.bitboys.com.
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