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This week we’re looking at Texas Instruments’ recent acquisition of Silicon Labs, human-centric AI in manufacturing and IoT, the next generation of smart construction, and more!
The Deal Reshaping the Analog IoT Landscape
Texas Instruments’ recent agreement to acquire Silicon Labs for $7.5 billion is window into where the IoT and embedded market is heading. The all-cash transaction, priced at a nearly 70% premium, marks TI’s largest acquisition in more than a decade. At its core, the move brings together TI’s scale in analog and embedded processing with Silicon Labs’ strength in wireless connectivity — two foundational pillars of modern IoT systems.
For years, Silicon Labs has operated as a fabless designer focused on mixed-signal and wireless chips used in smart homes, industrial automation, and commercial applications. TI, by contrast, is an integrated device manufacturer with deep internal fabrication capacity, including large 300mm wafer fabs in the U.S. The plan to migrate Silicon Labs’ production into TI’s own manufacturing footprint — with projected annual synergies of roughly $450 million within three years — reflects a broader industry shift. Increasingly, competitive advantage is about chip design, but also owning the manufacturing stack and tightening the feedback loop between process technology and product architecture.
The timing also speaks to the evolution of IoT deployments. Wireless connectivity is increasingly about supporting higher-performance edge systems that combine sensing, compute, and power management in compact, energy-efficient packages. As industrial and automotive systems become more intelligent and software-driven, the integration of radios, embedded processing, and analog control becomes more strategic. This combination positions TI to serve markets where long lifecycles, reliability, and supply stability matter as much as raw performance.
Importantly, the acquisition reinforces TI’s core exposure to industrial and automotive markets — segments that continue to anchor the IoT economy even amid AI-driven enthusiasm around data centers. Silicon Labs’ customer base is heavily industrial, and its connectivity portfolio aligns closely with factory automation, building systems, and connected infrastructure. Rather than chasing purely hyperscale growth, the deal fortifies TI’s position in embedded and edge environments where wireless connectivity is becoming inseparable from control systems and power electronics.
Zooming out, the transaction highlights an accelerating consolidation trend in the fragmented analog and embedded semiconductor landscape. As edge AI and connected devices scale, the companies that can pair wireless IP with manufacturing control may gain structural cost and supply advantages that are difficult for fabless competitors to replicate. For IoT professionals, the takeaway is clear: the intelligent edge stack is compressing. Connectivity, compute, power, and manufacturing are increasingly converging under fewer umbrellas — and that shift will shape how the next decade of IoT hardware gets built and deployed.
📖 Top Articles
Most manufacturing organizations have moved beyond the “prove IoT works” phase. Dashboards provide visibility. Historians capture data. Analytics platforms generate reports. These systems accomplished exactly what they were designed to do: they made operations visible and data accessible.
What remains is a more fundamental challenge. Now that data is flowing, how do teams consistently turn it into better decisions, faster, without adding complexity or risk?
With ongoing struggles in the construction industry, owners and capital program leaders must look for efficiency wherever possible.
While owners typically delegate site control to general contractors, they remain accountable for outcomes such as safety, schedule adherence, and budget performance. Implementing a system of tools using the Internet of Things can provide owners with greater visibility into site conditions and risks without compromising safety or accuracy.
Artificial intelligence has become a critical layer in addressing this gap. When applied correctly, AI enables automation across IoT workflows — from anomaly detection and predictive maintenance to asset optimization and operational decision-making. However, identifying AI capabilities that genuinely support enterprise IoT systems remains a complex task.
Here’s how organizations evaluate AI platforms within IoT environments, why discovery alone is insufficient, and how enterprises move from experimentation to dependable automation.
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🔥 Rapid Fire
Is IoT the operational backbone of the modern environmental laboratory?
New chip boosts IoT security with unified encryption and hashing hardware
New 5G RedCap chipset targets industrial IoT deployments
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10x Better, 10x Cheaper: Modernizing Legacy Buildings Without the Rip-and-Replace
The commercial building industry has a massive connectivity gap. Despite decades of innovation, less than 2% of buildings are actually connected to the internet.
The barrier isn't a lack of interest—it’s the “Rip and Replace” trap. For most building owners, the cost of tearing out 60 years of proprietary legacy systems to install modern tech simply doesn't scale.
We’re hosting a fireside chat to show you a different way.
Join Jim Hassman of Blues and SkyCentrics founder Tristan de Frondeville on February 26th as they break down how they are cracking open the commercial building market. They’ll share the blueprint for a solution that is 10x more functional and 10x less expensive than legacy alternatives by working with existing infrastructure, not against it.
In this session, we’ll explore:
The Retrofit Strategy: How to bypass the “rip and replace” cycle.
Legacy to Cloud: Technical insights on connecting old hardware to modern AI.
Economic Viability: Why cellular IoT is the secret to scaling building connectivity.
🎙 The IoT For All Podcast
In this episode of the IoT For All Podcast, David Stanton, CEO and co-founder of Reelables, joins Ryan Chacon to discuss how smart labels are transforming the supply chain. The conversation covers the current state of the supply chain industry, the challenges of data quality, why data still flows across supply chains by email, how smart labels compare to barcodes, computer vision, and drones for tracking assets, passive vs active smart labels, cargo tracking, and the future of the supply chain.
✅ Partner Spotlight
Media Partner
The Things Industries is a well-established LoRaWAN connectivity and services provider. With a global installed base of over 50,000+ gateways, 2.4M+ connected devices, and 500+ enterprise customers, we assume a leading role in the global ecosystem. Our mission is to break down the complexities of LoRaWAN development, allow for integration and interoperability across the supply chain, and lower the TCO of LoRaWAN projects. We envision a platform for anyone who wants to become a LoRaWAN expert and build competitive LoRaWAN solutions. We strive to continuously bring disruptive innovations to the market, in collaboration with credible partners.
Interested in becoming an IoT For All Partner? Reach out here!
🗓️ Events & Webinars
How to Achieve Industrial IIoT at Scale
This webinar explores how leading organisations are transforming operations through scalable, secure IoT.
Topics include: How scaling IIoT drives greater efficiency and innovation, where the market is headed - projected to hit $254.6B by 2033, real-world success stories, from predictive maintenance to ROI, and how to overcome the biggest challenges to scaling globally
📄 eBooks & White Papers
