Intel is growing its capabilities in
both software and mobility with the proposed acquisition of Telmap, a
location-based services company based in Israel.
Telmap, which will become a wholly owned
subsidiary of Intel, will enable the giant chip maker to expand what it can
offer in terms of software, according to Peter Biddle, general manager of Intel's
AppUp developer program.
"This move is a step toward
expanding our mobile software services capabilities as Intel continues to grow
in the area of software and services," Biddle said in a post on the company's AppUp developer blog. "We are all
very excited to have such knowledgeable and respected experts join the company."
Intel initially announced the deal
during the keynote speech at the vendor's AppUp Elements 2011 show, which ran
Sept. 28-29 in Seattle. No financial details were released, though reports from
news outlets in Israel put the figure at $300 million, according to Reuters.
The New York Times on Oct. 2 quoted Telmap CEO
Oren Nissim as saying he expects the deal to close before the end of the year.
"The unique thing about this
transaction is that here comes a giant and says, 'We really like what you're
doing, we believe in your strategy, we want to enhance and go forward. We're
not here to swallow you up,'" Nissim said, adding that Telmap, with Intel
as a partner, will become a strong alternative to much larger location-based
service vendors like Google and Nokia.
For Intel, Telmap—which has 210
employees—will enable the vendor to bring greater capabilities to its silicon
offerings. Intel executives have been vocal about their desire to have the
company become more of a solutions provider than simply a chip maker. For
example, Intel in February closed on its $7.68 billion deal to buy security software maker McAfee
to help bring hardware-based security capabilities to its processors and make
devices such as desktop PCs and notebooks more secure.
Intel also has been active in
developing a Linux-based mobile operating system as an alternative to Google's
Android and Apple's iOS. The chip maker was working with Nokia to create the
MeeGo OS. Nokia has since ditched the effort to focus on Microsoft's Windows
Phone operating system. Intel officials in September said they—along with other
vendors, such as Samsung—were evolving MeeGo into an effort around Tizen, a
Linux-based OS for multiple devices, including mobile handsets, netbooks and
tablets.
AppUp is an app store effort around MeeGo and
Windows.
The Telmap move will help Intel in the
consumer space, according to Biddle.
"From a consumer perspective,
Telmap helps bring to life our vision for integrated, uniform experiences
across consumer devices," he wrote. "Telmap has a tremendous amount
of expertise around end-to-end mobile local search, mapping and navigation
services. Telmap delivers great multi-platform consumer experiences every day,
and we're looking forward to combining that focus and excellence with Intel's
to significantly grow their business."
Along with the service angle of the
deal, Telmap also will help developers as they build apps for the AppUp
program.
"With Telmap we can directly
provide developers with location-based services spanning devices, operating
systems and CPU architectures," Biddle wrote. "Telmap will allow us
to provide AppUp developers with great, differentiated location capabilities in
the form of a standard set of location-based APIs and software that developers
can easily integrate into their AppUp apps."
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