Norwegian chip company Nordic Semiconductor has signed a deal to buy the IP portfolio of Atlazo, an artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) company.

Nordic did not disclose the financial details of the acquisition, which includes all IP, employment agreements with the core team, and some other assets of Atlazo.

San Diego, US-based Atlazo is engaged in developing AI/ML processors, sensor interface design and energy management solutions for miniature edge devices.

The location in San Diego will become Nordic’s third research and development facility in the US.

For Nordic, the deal is expected to bolster its position in the development of low-power products and solutions for the Internet of Things and hasten its ongoing development plans.

Nordic further explained that with the IP and team from Atlazo, Nordic now owns advanced AI/ML technology, sophisticated sensor front-end technology for health-related applications, and on-device technology that enables any computing processor to function at the lowest energy point for a given workload.

Nordic Semiconductor CEO Svenn-Tore Larsen said: “While this is a small bolt-on acquisition for Nordic, we consider it to be strategically significant. Adding this group of highly experienced engineers and their intellectual property is an excellent fit with Nordic’s ongoing product development.

“We are confident that this integration will accelerate our progress towards ultra-low-power AI/ML, and anticipate that we will begin to see the initial benefits of this acquisition within 12-18 months of closing the transaction.”

Earlier this year, Nordic completed the acquisition of Mobile Semiconductor.

The latest acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete by the end of this year.