Qualcomm acquires Autotalks for hundreds of millions after two-year delay
The deal was first announced in May 2023, only to be canceled a year later due to regulatory inspections of the transaction by the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission.
One year after the original deal was abandoned, American chip giant Qualcomm announced on Thursday that it is acquiring Israeli company Autotalks. In March 2024, the two companies were forced to cancel the deal, first announced in May 2023, due to regulatory hurdles. The cancellation was prompted by regulatory inspections of the transaction, with the EU claiming that the deal required antitrust approval. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was also reportedly looking into the transaction.
However, on Thursday, Qualcomm announced it has successfully completed the acquisition. The valuation of the deal was not disclosed, but is believed to be similar to the original deal, estimated at $350–$400 million. Approximately 100 Autotalks employees will now join Qualcomm.
Autotalks, founded in 2009, develops vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication chips that allow vehicles to transmit key data, such as speed, direction, location, and braking status, to surrounding vehicles and infrastructure. The goal is not to replace existing safety tools but to complement them and provide a clearer picture of the road environment.
Autotalks has raised $150 million to date. Calcalist has learned that Delek Motors will receive $10 million from the sale, as investors in the most recent round were promised 1.5x their investment and have first priority in returns.
While current V2X technologies on the market focus on basic situational alerts—known as "Day 1" functions—Autotalks’ new chipsets are designed for "Day 2" functionality: life-saving capabilities like automatically braking a vehicle to prevent a crash. One leading automaker has already selected these chips for integration into millions of passenger cars. The first products will be available later this year, with vehicles featuring the new chips expected to hit the roads in 2025.
“As automotive systems grow more complex, the importance of safety features has never been higher,” said Nakul Duggal, head of automotive and industrial at Qualcomm Technologies. He described the acquisition as a “strategic step” to further Qualcomm’s V2X roadmap and global deployment efforts.
For Qualcomm, this marks an expansion of its automotive ambitions beyond infotainment and connectivity into a space increasingly tied to public policy, regulatory standards, and even urban infrastructure planning. Governments across the U.S., EU, and Asia have started mandating or piloting V2X infrastructure to reduce traffic fatalities, which reached a record high in several countries post-pandemic.
Autotalks’ technology has already been deployed in pilot programs worldwide, and its support for both DSRC and C-V2X ensures compatibility in a fragmented global regulatory environment. Two-wheelers, which are often left out of high-end automotive innovations, are also a key part of the integration plan, a nod to growing road safety concerns for cyclists and motorcyclists.
Former Autotalks CEO Hagai Zyss, now VP of product management at Qualcomm, said the merged teams aim to “drive the cooperative safety revolution,” leveraging Qualcomm’s global reach to scale Autotalks’ innovations.
