onsemi is buying Synaptics in an all-stock deal worth about $7bn. The onsemi Synaptics deal bets that AI’s next wave lives not in the cloud, but in cars, factories and robots.
The chip industry has spent three years building for AI that runs in giant data centres. Onsemi just placed a bet on the opposite idea. The American chipmaker has agreed to buy Synaptics, a specialist in chips for smart devices. The all-stock deal values the target at about $6.2bn.
Including debt, it carries a total enterprise value of roughly $7bn. The two companies set out the terms in a joint statement. Both boards approved it unanimously. It should close in mid-2027, subject to a Synaptics shareholder vote and regulatory clearances.
The logic comes down to a phrase onsemi keeps repeating: physical AI. Chief executive Hassane El-Khoury frames it as a way to put intelligence into the machines around us. The target is the device, not the data hall.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!He said the next phase will depend on “systems that can sense, decide, act and adapt in real time.” The four pieces he wants under one roof: power, sense, connected compute, and control.
