STMicroelectronics, Qualcomm team for next-gen industrial IoT

As the increased need in both the industrial and consumer sectors for next-generation internet of things (IoT) solutions drives not only a demand for hardware for also a commensurate requirement for edge AI solutions, global semiconductor firm STMicroelectronics has entered into a strategic collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies International.

According to data from ABI Research, the installed base of consumer, commercial and industrial connected devices will reach well over 80 billion units by 2028, meaning that the proliferation of high-performance wireless connectivity solutions combined with a diverse suite of microcontrollers will be fundamental in enabling this next wave of wireless IoT innovation.

The initial collaboration will see the two companies integrate Qualcomm Technologies’ AI-powered wireless connectivity technologies, starting with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/thread combo system-on-a-chip (SoC), with the microcontroller (MCU) ecosystem from ST.

Through this collaboration, developers will gain connectivity software integration into STM32 general-purpose MCUs, including software toolkits, facilitating quick and broad adoption via ST’s world-wide sales and distributor channels.

STMicroelectronics and Qualcomm Technologies regard wireless connectivity as key to the fast pervasion of edge AI across an ever-growing variety of use cases in enterprise, industrial and personal applications.

Assessing how he thought the partnership will pan out, ABI senior research director Andrew Zignani said the collaboration between the two firms was “a perfect match” due to ST’s microcontroller ecosystem and Qualcomm Technologies’ R&D expertise in wireless connectivity.

“The growing availability of these combined solutions will enable companies to address this dynamic IoT market more simply, quickly and cost-effectively in the years to come,” he added.

Focusing on the broader market, ST plans to introduce self-contained modules utilising Qualcomm Technologies’ Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Thread combo SoC portfolio, which can be system-level integrated with any STM32 general-purpose microcontrollers.

Wireless connectivity optimised and made available to ST’s developer ecosystem through ST’s well established software platform will contribute to reducing development time and time-to-market.

The initial product offerings resulting from the collaboration are expected to be available to OEMs in Q1 2025, with broader availability to follow. This is seen as a first step in a collaboration that envisions a roadmap of Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Thread combo SoC products over time, with the intention to extend into cellular connectivity for industrial IoT applications.

“We are establishing a strategic collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies on wireless connectivity…starting with Wi-Fi/BT/Thread combo SoC, and already considering next steps, complementing our existing multi-protocol Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, Thread and sub-GHz products portfolio,” added Remi El-Ouazzane, president of microcontrollers, digital ICs and RF products group for STMicroelectronics.

“We envision wireless connectivity products based on technology from Qualcomm Technologies augmenting any of our STM32 products, bringing significant value to our more than 100,000 STM32 customers globally.”

Rahul Patel, group general manager, connectivity, broadband and networking business unit for Qualcomm Technologies, said: “Our collaboration with STMicroelectronics pairs Qualcomm Technologies’ best-in-class connectivity offerings with ST’s leading STM32 microcontroller ecosystem and will help to drive a significant acceleration of feature-rich capabilities across the IoT. Together, we are setting new developer experiences for IoT applications, supporting seamless integration and optimal performance for developers and end-users alike.”