Rapidus can report that the British microprocessor developer ARM has acquired the Sweden-based technology company Mistbase. Founded by veterans from Ericsson and Sony Mobile, Mistbase is specialized in developing hardware and software components for low-power radio communication in IoT-devices.
Mistbase is located in Lund, in southern Sweden, and was founded in 2015 by Michal Stala and Magnus Midholt, both with extensive experience from Ericsson and Sony Mobile. Last year, Mistbase received four million SEK in venture capital funding from business angels. Since then the company has grown to 18 employees including the founders, according to Mistbases website. The company is focused on developing components for the low-cost, low-power radio communication standards LTE Cat-M and Narrow Band IoT.
On the same website, ARM is presented as a partner to Mistbase but as Rapidus can report, ARM has recently acquired the entire company. According to official documents from Mistbase, dated last week, ARM today holds all the shares of Mistbase.
In concurrence with the acquisition, Mistbases board of directors has been overhauled. The former owners have resigned to make way for representatives from ARM. Among them are Rene Haas, president of ARM:s intellectual property group, and Olof Dellien, office manager for ARM:s development site in Lund.
Rapidus has not been able to reach any representative of Mistbase for comments. ARM:s Olof Dellien declines to comment on the deal.
ARM, formerly listed on the London stock exchange, was acquired by Japan-based SoftBank in 2016 for £23 billion. ARM has more than 4.500 employees worldwide, including around 100 at the development site in Lund. The company’s semiconductor chips are used in a wide range of mobile devices from manufacturers such as Samsung.
Rapidus
