TI acquires portable power mgmt IC supplier

Texas Instruments Inc. has acquired Powerprecise Solutions Inc., a fabless supplier of portable power management ICs. With the acquisition, TI hopes to boost its development of power-management solutions for consumer, automotive, medical, computing and industrial applications, such as robotics, power tools, electric bicycles, as well as large battery systems, such as those used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems.

"Designers continue to demand innovative power-management solutions to address complex battery power challenges," said Dave Heacock, senior VP of TI's high volume analogue business. "Adding Powerprecise products and expertise expands our large portfolio of complete battery management ICs that support a range of end applications from portable media players to power drills to automotive designs."

Established in 2002, Powerprecise currently has offices in Herndon, Virginia, Taipei, Taiwan; and San Jose, California. The company, which has 28 employees, offers battery and energy management mixed-signal ICs for primary and rechargeable battery packs used in various consumer, industrial and computing applications.

Buying mode
TI only has eyes for small to mid-size niche purchases, a strategy that the company believes will help boost its product offering and productivity, especially in the analogue arena. In August, TI acquired RF design specialist Integrated Circuit Designs Inc.