Valens licensed its A-PHY technology to onsemi for an integrated image sensor
A securities filing disclosed a royalty-bearing license letting onsemi build Valens' automotive sensor-link technology directly into a next-generation image sensor, on terms the accompanying press release did not describe.
Valens Semiconductor disclosed on September 22 that it had entered a license agreement with Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC, trading as onsemi, granting onsemi a non-exclusive license to make and sell a specific next-generation integrated image sensor incorporating Valens’ MIPI A-PHY connectivity technology in exchange for royalty payments.
The explanatory note in the Form 6-K carries terms the companies’ press release does not. The agreement was entered on September 14, and can be terminated after ten years for convenience on 180 days’ written notice, or earlier for material breach. On termination, the license survives for products already on onsemi’s product roadmap or commercialized beforehand, subject to continued royalty payments. Neither the filing nor the release states a royalty rate or a value.
The target application is a cost-optimized integrated sensor for high-volume 3-megapixel automotive camera work. Most automotive image sensors target the 1 to 3 megapixel range, according to the release, which frames 3 megapixels as the direction of travel rather than the incumbent volume. Ahmed Salem, vice president and general manager of onsemi’s Intelligent Sensing Group, said the combination allowed a camera architecture with a reduced component count built on industry standards.
Yoram Salinger, chief executive of Valens Semiconductor, framed the agreement as ecosystem work rather than a single design, saying that collaborating with another supplier of A-PHY silicon strengthened supplier choice for carmakers. MIPI A-PHY is an automotive industry standard for high-speed sensor connectivity.
onsemi filed no corresponding disclosure, so the Valens filing is the only compelled record of the agreement.