2 ms·

I wonder why SiFive wasn't the acquisition target

ch_123 10mo ago
Might be worth more than Qualcomm is willing to spend and/or introduce antitrust concerns. This feels like a hedging of bets, no need for Qualcomm to buy the biggest name in the RISC-V space.
rwmj 10mo ago
SiFive have apparently been shopping themselves around for a while. But they've been around for a long time, taken loads of investment, had a huge number of employees at one point (not now), and don't have very competitive products. My speculation is they're just not a very attractive acquisition with a complex ownership structure, and are demanding too much money to compensate their earlier investors.
- tonetegeatinst 10mo ago
  Does anyone know or have they leaked potential cost of acquisition?
  - monocasa 10mo ago
    The $2B deal with Intel fell through. Thought they were arguably worth more on paper then. My guess is that they're in a weird place where a fair offer at the moment is less than the investment they've gotten so far.
    - deleted 10mo ago
      [deleted]
    - phendrenad2 10mo ago
      Note that the $2 billion deal story was always "according to people with knowledge of the matter", and I wonder if it was nothing more than Intel taking a peek at Sifive's technology and books. https://archive.is/FVMLI#selection-3331.81-3331.129 https://archive.is/FVMLI#selection-3331.81-3331.129
- pieter3d 10mo ago
  A perfect target for Intel then, followed by a rapid exodus of the employees and destruction of the IP (like every other Intel acquisition).
  - monocasa 10mo ago
    They almost got bought by Intel, but then even Intel noped out. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-failed-to-buy-sifive https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-failed-to-buy-sifive
IshKebab 10mo ago
SiFive have had a very long time to create competitive CPUs and they haven't really managed it. I dunno what's going on there but I'm not sure I'd buy them either.
- snvzz 10mo ago
  Their P870-D looks plenty competitive. What they might have issues with is finding clients to license it to.

ch_123 10mo ago

Might be worth more than Qualcomm is willing to spend and/or introduce antitrust concerns. This feels like a hedging of bets, no need for Qualcomm to buy the biggest name in the RISC-V space.

rwmj 10mo ago

SiFive have apparently been shopping themselves around for a while. But they've been around for a long time, taken loads of investment, had a huge number of employees at one point (not now), and don't have very competitive products. My speculation is they're just not a very attractive acquisition with a complex ownership structure, and are demanding too much money to compensate their earlier investors.

tonetegeatinst 10mo ago
Does anyone know or have they leaked potential cost of acquisition?
- monocasa 10mo ago
  The $2B deal with Intel fell through. Thought they were arguably worth more on paper then. My guess is that they're in a weird place where a fair offer at the moment is less than the investment they've gotten so far.
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
  - phendrenad2 10mo ago
    Note that the $2 billion deal story was always "according to people with knowledge of the matter", and I wonder if it was nothing more than Intel taking a peek at Sifive's technology and books. https://archive.is/FVMLI#selection-3331.81-3331.129 https://archive.is/FVMLI#selection-3331.81-3331.129
pieter3d 10mo ago
A perfect target for Intel then, followed by a rapid exodus of the employees and destruction of the IP (like every other Intel acquisition).
- monocasa 10mo ago
  They almost got bought by Intel, but then even Intel noped out. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-failed-to-buy-sifive https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-failed-to-buy-sifive

IshKebab 10mo ago

SiFive have had a very long time to create competitive CPUs and they haven't really managed it. I dunno what's going on there but I'm not sure I'd buy them either.

snvzz 10mo ago
Their P870-D looks plenty competitive. What they might have issues with is finding clients to license it to.