Intel says it's acquiring Rivet Networks, makers of the Killer range of networking products, and will integrate it into its Wireless Solutions Group
Intel said Wednesday that it has acquired Rivet Networks, and will integrate the company's Killer Networking line of Wi-Fi networking products into its own wireless portfolio.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Rivet Networks deal continues Intel's long-running build-up-by-tuck-in strategy: it bought SoC design-tool maker NetSpeed Systems in 2018, vision-chip startup Movidius in 2016, 5G software firm Smart Edge last October, and the former Infineon IoT unit Lantiq in 2015. The counterpoint is Wind River, acquired for $884M and then sold to TPG in 2018 once embedded software drifted from core.
First-order effects
- Rivet's Killer Wi-Fi products move under Intel's Wireless Solutions Group, so the premium-gaming networking brand stops being an independent supplier to notebook makers.
- PC manufacturers sourcing Intel wireless silicon can now get Killer-branded networking as part of the same module rather than through a separate vendor relationship.
Second-order effects
- Notebook vendors that paid Rivet directly for Killer differentiation must decide whether bundling it inside Intel's wireless portfolio preserves the feature or commoditizes it.
- Rival suppliers of client Wi-Fi lose a standalone competitor in the premium segment, since Intel now controls both the radio and the value-added networking software around it.
Third-order effects
- If the Movidius–NetSpeed–Smart Edge–Rivet pattern holds, specialist networking and edge-software firms keep getting absorbed into platform owners — the 'Specialist Absorption Risk' dynamic — leaving fewer independent vendors for OEMs to mix and match.
The trend: Intel keeps assembling end-to-end silicon-plus-software stacks through small capability acquisitions while pruning units that fall outside them, as Wind River's sale showed.