Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, CA, indie has been at the forefront of the technological revolution that’s been sweeping through the automotive sector and is a leading developer of next generation semiconductors, photonics and software platforms that address the needs of technologies like ADAS, the in-cabin user experience and electrification.
The company develops mixed-signal SoCs as well as providing embedded system control, power management and interfacing solutions.
New Electronics caught up with Chet Babla, Senior VP of Strategic Marketing at indie, to discuss developments in the automotive space, but we started with an overview of the company.
“indie was founded back in 2007 and is now a listed company. It employs over 900 people, and annual revenues are around $200 million - that’s a ten-fold increase since our IPO back in 2021,” Babla explained. “We’re on a strong trajectory and there are plenty of opportunities out there.
In terms of his own career progression, Babla joined GEC Plessey in the early 1990s and started work as a RF analogue chip designer.
“Looking back, it’s interesting to note that while GEC had an automotive division, no one wanted to work there. It was considered a boring mechanical space. Fast forward 20 years and how things have changed! Arguably the automotive space is now one of most innovative areas of electronics.”
Babla has worked for a variety of business including both MediaTek and Arm, where he took on business development roles. He joined indie in 2022.
“I was first exposed to the automotive space with MediaTek and can take some credit for initiating their move into the automotive space after a discussion with Bosch, who became their first customer. While at Arm, I led the automotive division and saw how semiconductors were impacting and changing the entire automotive ecosystem.
“I’d encountered the indie’s CEO back in 2017 and knew the business. indie’s vision is to bring cutting edge technology to the mass market and to improve the overall value proposition. There’s also a culture of innovation, of creative problem-solving and openness and despite growing rapidly it still feels very much like an entrepreneurial start-up but one with the infrastructure of a large company. That’s what attracted me.”
indie has developed an extensive product portfolio that addresses the three automotive megatrends of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), in-cabin user experience (UX) and electrification.
“A mixed-signal semiconductor and systems company we can offer analogue, digital, signal processing, photonics and system design expertise and we’ve been able to develop our engineering expertise both organically and through acquisition,” Babla explained.
Acquisitions strengthen capabilities
Over the past eight years indie has made eight acquisitions that have significantly strengthened its capabilities in vision and radar, photonics and high-speed data processing.
“ADAS is a huge area of innovation, and the market isn’t well served. We know that we can bring some real differentiation to this space. While we’ve grown organically where we see good opportunities with companies that have exceptional technologies, we consider acquisitions on a case-by-case basis.
“To maintain our culture, we need to ensure that acquisitions are integrated efficiently into the business without impacting or disrupting existing teams.
“Today’s products are far more complex, so we have also had to invest in developing our software capabilities to address the need for greater software and electronics integration.”
According Babla the three industry megatrends will shape the direction of the business.
“Safety regulations are driving ADAS which is boosting semiconductor content within automobiles as are more sophisticated in-cabin UX features. We’ve got good competence on the ADAS side, which is a big differentiator when it comes to our competitors as we can offer LiDAR, radar, ultrasonic and vision processing solutions.
“While in terms of UX we offer wireless charging and USB power delivery, USB hub and Apple CarPlay connectivity, high speed video and data transport, interior and exterior lighting and small motor control capabilities.”
Interestingly, lighting has proved of particular interest to many high-end customers.
“The in-cabin experience is so much more than just infotainment. Take lighting for example. I was surprised as to what can be done. One of our customers, a premium car manufacturer, wanted to use our chips to provide discrete lighting but with an even distribution of light. That required more current to pass through the LED. More current means higher temperatures which can degrade the light quality. While delivering temperature performance is challenging, we had the power management capabilities to deliver a workable solution.
“Energy efficient is a vital aspect of automotive design because when it comes to battery power you don’t want your electronics impacting on the vehicle’s range.
“OEMs also want more aesthetically pleasing cabins so they are looking at new materials, the form of the interior and they want to avoid bulky electronics that could impact on the flow of the cockpit, which means more integration on the chip and fewer external components.”
The demand for semiconductors is also being driven by electric vehicles which deploy three times the chips that are found in an average ICE vehicle.
“I think reports of a so called slow-down in EV demand is over-egging it somewhat,” suggests Babla. “Production between 2023 and 2030 is forecast to grow at 19% per year, while for ICE vehicles sales are falling. By 2030 EVs will represent over 40% of total vehicle production. “Growth has certainly slowed but 20% is pretty good and OEMs have placed a lot of investment in EV development, they will want to reap the rewards.”
indie is a global business, and a key market is China where EV development is leading the world.
“If you want to discuss EVs you have to concede that current Chinese EVs are incredible. The uptake has been massive helped by government mandate. But barriers to entry are low and the development of EVs requires a new type of innovation and it’s more about battery technology where China is incredibly strong.
“The local economy also had a much greater appetite for EVs, and I think it spoke to the needs of the local consumer. Consequently, the adoption of EVs has been much faster than elsewhere and the user experience is exceptional in terms of interconnectivity, for example. It’s not surprising that we’re seeing more Chinese EVs in Europe - you a get a lot of ‘car’ for your money.
“Europe needs to move faster, but to build that skill set in house or to partner with the right companies will take time – I’m an optimist but the clock is ticking, in my opinion.”
Customer engagement
Moving faster requires much greater customer engagement and that for Babla is something of immense importance.
“Today chip developers and Tier One integrators are having to work much more closely with OEMs to ensure that they meet their requirements. The challenges we face in today’s market are so complicated that you need much greater co-operation throughout the value chain.
“OEMs want to share their use cases and to discuss whether, from a silicon perspective, that what they’re looking to achieve is possible and whether the Tier One can bring the final system together. That discussion is now far more important and today it’s all about partnership and co-operation.
“We’re seeing a lot of turbulence in the automotive industry but in terms of the automotive semiconductor industry the level of innovation continues to be truly incredible and that is certainly cause for optimism.”
