Source: adafruit industries blog
The semiconductor consolidation train keeps rolling. CHOO CHOO … Texas Instruments announced it’s acquiring Silicon Labs for $7.5 billion in cash. That’s $231 per share for anyone who keeps track of that.
Silicon Labs has been a major player in wireless connectivity, making the chips that power a huge chunk of the IoT world: Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Matter-enabled devices. If you’ve built a smart home gadget or played with wireless dev boards, there’s a good chance Silicon Labs silicon was involved.
TI’s press release goo is the usual consolidation “synergies” speak (promising $450 million worth, which historically translates to layoffs), “scale,” and “better serving customers.” Both companies are Austin-based, so at least the commute won’t change for whoever’s left after, we hope they keep Silicon Labs weird, they’ve always had some cool radio chips.
For makers and engineers, the real question is what happens to Silicon Labs’ developer ecosystem. Their dev boards, documentation, and community support have been solid. TI has a mixed track record there.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval. We’ll be watching to see if this means better availability and pricing, or just another logo swap on the datasheet. TI is not the worst company, and nowadays that’s the best you can hope for.
