Acquired

Episode 30: P.A. Semi + AuthenTec

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal 1h 17m 112 months ago

Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.

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Show Notes

Topics covered include:

P.A. Semi’s original moniker ("Palo Alto Semiconductor”) and its celebrity founder (in the semiconductor world) Dan Dobberpuhl

History of the back and forth tradeoffs between Intel’s powerful x86 chips and low power alternatives like ARM processors

Dobberpuhl’s technology breakthroughs throughout his career that enabled true low-power + high-performance chips

The initial target markets for P.A. Semi’s chips (surprise: NOT mobile phones)

P.A. Semi’s first foray into a potential deal with Apple, dashed by Cupertino’s surprise switch to Intel processors in 2005

The rise of mobile finally creating the huge market need for low-power / high-performance, Apple’s acquisition of P.A., and launch of the first Apple-designed chip, the “A4”, with the original iPad in 2010

Geekbench: the single-core performance of Apple’s latest generation of smartphone processors (A10 Fusion) has basically caught up with Intel’s laptop CPUs

AuthenTec’s beginnings in the late 90’s as a spinoff from the defense contractor Harris Corporation (named by Wired Magazine as the #2 threat to internet privacy in the US), based in Melbourne, Florida

Early versions of the technology that became TouchID, the sensors for which were many times larger than today’s iPhones themselves!

AuthenTec “not very Apple-like” website on Archive.org (and screenshot)

AuthenTec’s deal that almost was to put their technology and sensors into Samsung’s flagship phones

Apple’s acquisition of AuthenTec for $356 million in July 2012, and the rapid introduction of TouchID in the iPhone 5S one year later in September 2013

Sponsors:

WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25

Intapp: https://bit.ly/intappceleste

Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry

Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25

Followups:

Merging of Alaska & Virgin America loyalty programs (woo!)

Walmart announces major reorg following the Jet acquisition

Snap Inc. IPO drama is mounting! (we can’t wait to cover this one)

The Carve Out:

Ben: Rands in Repose: The Situation

David: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work