When an IC manufacturer gets acquired by a sketchy-looking business - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: davegravy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2025, 01:57:24 am
content: I'm appealing to more senior people who have worked in the industry and seen manufacturer acquisitions play out over the years.I'm a small startup and in the very late stages of development on our 1st product. A critical component in our design is a U-blox LTE module. U-blox cellular division was just sold to Trasna, and although I was assured the modules will continue to be manufactured per Ublox's original commitment and I happen to know a few U-blox employees (FAE, sales) moved with the sale, I'm still really worried.https://www.trasna.io/Trasna's web presence is mostly marketing fluff. They supposedly have some existing SIM/eSIM products, but I can't find them in any online supplier's product list. They don't seem to have any web infrastructure for hosting documentation, firmware updates, support ticketing, etc. There isn't even a published tech support email address. VERY unlike U-blox. I have a sneaky suspicion this was a fire sale and Trasna doesn't have a lot invested to make these successful products.Am I justified in having cold feet? What are some risks I may not be considering if I go to production with these modules versus delaying release and switching at this late stage to another manufacturer?

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2025, 02:11:36 am
content: Whenever you are dependent on a single supplier device, you are vulnerable, but it is almost impossible to avoid in this highly integrated SOC type world. They at least look like they are expanding and have capital, so maybe in the long run it might be good for U-blox, only time will tell.

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2025, 05:49:34 am
content: This looks more like an "upper class" OEM offering now, so you need to convince sales being a proper customer. However it is possible they don't target small business at all any more and you won't get access to their products. Or maybe they could state a distributor for selected parts.

author: davegravy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2025, 12:32:14 pm
content: Quote from: Haenk on June 13, 2025, 05:49:34 amI was afraid of that, so thank you for confirming my fear. I think that's what I meant by sketchy (as opposed to malicious). I'll ask the question about distribution and think about hedging risk by securing the inventory I need for the foreseeable future.

author: Conrad Hoffman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2025, 01:44:00 pm
content: Being a startup with one product, relying on a single source component is risky business! What is your plan B? If you don't have a viable plan B, you need to come up with one.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2025, 11:18:05 pm
content: https://www.iotinsider.com/news/trasna-acquisition-of-u-bloxs-cellular-iot-business-will-propel-business/"Trasna has committed to retain all employees, customers, and operations"Whether or not you can trust their words, who knows, they might shut down the whole product line in a year or it might go on forever.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2025, 11:33:11 pm
content: Don't try to communicate with manufacturers directly, they won't have the bandwidth for you. Go through a distributor.