Maxim, a leader in high-performance analog integration technologies, expands its automotive ecosystem.

Tokyo, Japan—August 4, 2015—Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM, hereinafter referred to as "Maxim") announced that it has joined the "R-Car Consortium," a partner program advocated by Renesas Electronics Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "Renesas"). By participating in R-Car Consortium, Maxim further establishes its commitment to the automotive market.

The automotive industry is evolving fast. In order to implement state-of-the-art automotive systems, greater focus is being placed on the collaboration between digital semiconductors centering on processors, and the high-performance analog semiconductors that form an integral part of the ecosystem. In response to this major trend in in-vehicle electronics, Maxim has increased investment in its broad portfolio analog integrated circuits (ICs) for automotive applications. These include LED head lighting, software-defined radio (SDR), Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link (GMSL) solutions, battery management ICs, and power management ICs. Maxim's automotive ICs have been adopted by many automotive and tier one companies.

According to a 2014 survey by U.S. research firm IC Insights, the automotive semiconductor market is projected to grow at an average rate of 10.8% from 2013 to 2018. This is a higher rate of growth than the 6.8% for communications semiconductors, and 5.7% for industrial/medical equipment ICs. It is based on the popularization of hybrid cars and electric vehicles (HEV/EV), the development of semi-automated driving systems, and various advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) such as inter-vehicle communications and camera functions.

With its participation in Renesas' "R-Car Consortium," Maxim is able to offer a solution that will reduce the cost and configure radio tuners with a single design compatible with any type of radio system. The solution reduces the component count previously needed for the processing of baseband signals with the industry's first direct digital connection of a system on chip (SoC) and an analog front end in a software defined radio (SDR) application. This approach will enable the SoC to quickly process digital signals and is expected to become a mainstream protocol for signal processing in next-generation radios. Alongside its PMIC and GMSL offering, Maxim is well positioned to offer innovative solutions that add value to the automotive ecosystem.

By participating in the R-Car Consortium and collaborating with Renesas, a world-leading semiconductor company, Maxim intends to further expand its automotive business.

"With Maxim's participation in R-Car Consortium, we expect innovative automotive systems to be created by combining Renesas' cutting-edge SoCs with Maxim's high-performance analog semiconductors," said Mr. Masayasu Yoshida, Senior Manager, Automotive Information Strategy Department, Automotive Information System Business Division, Renesas Electronics Corporation.

"With the participation in R-Car Consortium, Maxim's automotive semiconductor business is entering a new phase. This is a new step toward an expansion of Maxim's automotive business, and we expect to develop cutting-edge solutions in collaboration with participating companies," said Mr. Osamu Takiguchi, Vice President of Sales, Japan, Maxim Integrated and Country Manager of Maxim Japan KK.

Maxim, a leader of high-performance analog integration, is a unique semiconductor company that is able to bring value to its customers by integrating diverse analog functions into a single chip and creating smaller systems with excellent energy efficiency. As a leading company of automotive high-performance ICs and sophisticated power management products, Maxim has enjoyed success in the automotive market with its products for infotainment systems, ADAS, smart keyless entry systems, and LED head lamp drivers.