SigmaTel (SGTL delisted from NASDAQ after 2008 acquisition by Freescale Semiconductor) was a System On a Chip SOC electronics and software company headquartered in Austin, TX, that designed turnkey portable compressed AV media player/recorder SOCs, reference circuit boards, SOC Software Development Kits, media player software apps, and controller chips for multifunction peripherals. SigmaTel was Austin's largest IPO as of 2003 when it became publicly traded on NASDAQ. Later its peak share price exceeded $45 with revenue of $300 million driven mainly by the STMP35xx series AV SOC and its turnkey software that empowered hundreds of original equipment manufacturer portable media player (PMP) models.
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Location | USA |
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First-generation iPod shuffle used the SigmaTel ST-MP3-5xx (click for datasheet) and its turnkey product quality Software Development Kit v2.6. Over 150 portable MP3 player models use the STMP35xx highly-integrated low cost audio System On a Chip (SOC) that requires no external RAM, voltage converters, battery chargers, headphone capacitors, Analog to Digital Converters, Digital to Analog Converters, or amplifiers, and over 150 million such portable audio player SOCs were sold from 2002-2006. Audio quality was rated as best in industry. SDK3.1x added Microsoft DRM10 support enabling services interoperability such as Rhapsody, Napster, and Yahoo Music Engine subscription audio services. Over 100 portable audio products are based on that STMP35xx SDK3. A few products using that SigmaTel SOC and software include the Dell Ditty, Creative muvo, Philips, etc.
Its line of audio CoDec chips has been found in Dell laptops, several new Dell desktops, the Sony Vaio notebook, and numerous other audio playback devices. SigmaTel sold its PC audio business in mid-2006 to Integrated Device Technology, Inc[1] for approximately USD $80 million.
In 2004, SigmaTel SOCs were found in over 70% of all MP3 devices sold on the market. However, SigmaTel lost its last iPod socket in 2006 when it was not found in the next generation iPod shuffle. PortalPlayer was their largest competitor, but were bought by Nvidia (NVDA) after PortalPlayer's chips lost their socket in the iPod. SigmaTel was voted "Best Place to Work in Austin 2005" by the Austin Chronicle.
In July 2005, SigmaTel acquired the rights to different software technologies sold by Digital Networks North America (a subsidiary of D&M Holdings, and owner of Rio Audio).
SigmaTel provided ready-to-use SOC software to equipment manufacturers to drive its current and next generation portable audio and video player chips. Formats decoded on portable ST-MP3-5xx SOCs include MP3, WMA, WAV, VORBIS, and on ST-MP3-7xx and ST-MP3-6xx SOCs: MPEG4 in AVI, WMV, etc. Audio Encoding & recording to flash storage memory in MP3 & WAV formats are supported from microphone, SigmaTel FM IC (STFM1000) digital audio source, or line-in. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layouts and reference schematics were provided to OEM and Original Development Manufacturing (ODM) customers, driving easy manufacturing. Turnkey portable media player custom RTOS, framework, and app software was a large component of the company's success.
After having the right to physically destroy Actions Semiconductor products at the U.S. border for IP infringement, SigmaTel settled all patent litigation and entered into Cross-License agreement with the Zhuhai, China based Actions Semiconductor Co. Ltd [1]. Both companies also agreed to not pursue possible third party IP infringements or new legal actions against each other and their respective customers for three years. Consequently, all of Actions' current and future products may be imported into the U.S. market without restrictions.[2]
The company also won a spot in Samsung televisions. Sales of the company's SGTV5800 TV Audio solution, which can be used in analog, digital and hybrid televisions Samsung have been ramping. SigmaTel introduced the SGTV5900 which is anticipated to supplant the SGTV5800.
In mid 2007 the company introduced portable QVGA 320x240 portable video decoding and higher resolutions followed using WMV and MPEG4.
Some SigmaTel microcontrollers, like STDC982G are used in printers manufactured by Samsung and sold under Xerox brand. Kodak All In One printers use a SigmaTel IC.
SigmaTel's equity traded as low as $100 million below book value. Its peak share price was $45 and its day1 IPO max share price was around $18. After the SGTL IPO in 2003, Austin's other biggest IPO was the later spinoff of Freescale Semiconductor by Motorola Corporation.
On February 4, 2008, Freescale Semiconductor announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SigmaTel for $110 million.[3] [4] The agreement closed in the second quarter of 2008 and all SGTL shares were purchased by Freescale for $3 each.
Freescale continued developing and selling the STMP3 portable AV SOC product line which is the ARM9 based STMP37xx & STMP36xx AV SOCs, and the DSP56k based STMP35xx portable AV SOC. Product info was on Freescale's ARM-based controller site. Freescale's i.MX2 ARM9 and i.MX3 ARM11 based multimedia SOC product line (especially analog SOC features) have been integrated with the STMP3xxx product line resulting in a stronger portable multimedia product portfolio.
On February 25, 2009, Freescale laid off 70% of the former Sigmatel team as part of a company-wide reduction in force. No new products under the Sigmatel design teams will be created. A 'skeleton crew' was chosen to stay and support existing OEM customers that are using the existing chips until the chips are 'End Of Lifed'. Freescale integrated analog IP from SigmaTel into its competing product lines and continues to pursue component and Real Time OS device driver based support for OEM's rather than the complete hardware and software turnkey system design approach of the successful SigmaTel startup that powered hundreds of millions of portable media players enjoyed by many users.