STMicroelectronics and Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at advancing the next generation of industrial and consumer IoT solutions with enhanced Edge AI capabilities.
This partnership will integrate Qualcomm Technologies’ AI-powered wireless connectivity technologies, starting with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread combo system-on-chip (SoC), into STMicroelectronics’ STM32 microcontroller (MCU) ecosystem, providing developers with streamlined software integration and support.
Remi El-Ouazzane, President of the Microcontrollers, Digital ICs, and RF Products Group at STMicroelectronics, underscored the significance of wireless connectivity in advancing Edge AI: “Wireless connectivity is key to the fast pervasion of Edge AI across an ever-growing variety of use cases in enterprise, industrial, and personal applications. This is why we are establishing a strategic collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies on wireless connectivity today, starting with Wi-Fi/BT/Thread combo SoC, and already considering next steps. 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.”
This collaboration will provide seamless integration of Qualcomm Technologies’ wireless SoC with ST’s STM32 MCUs, supported by an extensive software toolkit and development ecosystem. The aim is to simplify IoT development, enabling faster adoption through ST’s global sales and distribution networks.
Rahul Patel, Group General Manager of the Connectivity, Broadband, and Networking Business Unit at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., highlighted the importance of this partnership for accelerating IoT development: “Qualcomm Technologies’ research and development leadership has helped drive the evolution of wireless IoT, ranging from pioneering 4G/5G, to high-performance Wi-Fi, to micropower connectivity solutions. Our collaboration with STMicroelectronics pairs Qualcomm Technologies’ best-in-class connectivity offerings with ST’s leading STM32 microcontroller ecosystem and will help 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.”
STMicroelectronics also plans to introduce self-contained modules featuring Qualcomm Technologies’ Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread combo SoC portfolio, which will integrate seamlessly with STM32 microcontrollers. These modules will be designed to optimise wireless connectivity and will be available through ST’s well-established developer ecosystem. This collaboration aims to reduce development time and accelerate time-to-market for IoT applications. The first products from this partnership are expected to be available to OEMs in Q1 2025, with wider availability to follow.
Looking to the future, ST and Qualcomm Technologies envision expanding their collaboration to include a roadmap of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread combo SoC products, with plans to eventually incorporate cellular connectivity for industrial IoT applications.
Andrew Zignani, Senior Research Director at ABI Research, provided insight into the market implications of this partnership: “With the installed base of consumer, commercial, and industrial connected devices expected to reach well over 80 billion units by 2028, 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. This collaboration between STMicroelectronics and Qualcomm Technologies is a perfect match, and the growing availability of these combined solutions will enable companies to address this dynamic IoT market more simply, more quickly, and more cost-effectively in the years to come.”
