NVIDIA has announced that it plans to wind down the operation of Icera modem during the second quarter of 2016 and is open to a sale of the technology or its operations.
NVIDIA had purchased Icera in 2011 to join the smartphone revolution with an integrated application processor and modem platform.
Since then, the company has reshaped its strategy to focus on high-growth opportunities in gaming, automotive and cloud computing applications like deep learning, where its visual computing expertise is greatly valued.
Icera’s 4G LTE modem should keep the company in the loop for a year or more after which the company is no longer looking to develop its own modem. Instead it will partner with 3rd party modem suppliers for the same.
Currently the Icera division has around 500 employees, based mainly in France and UK along with smaller facilities in Asia and USA. NVIDIA will reveal further details as well as the financial impacts later today along with their Q1 2015 financial report.