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Swiss u-blox (News - Alert), a provider of wireless and positioning semiconductors and modules for the automotive, industrial and consumer markets, announced that it has acquired Antcor (News - Alert).

Founded in 2004, Antcor is a provider of software baseband IP for the communications and connectivity chip industry.

The Antcor acquisition strengthens u-blox’s technology for robust, short-range connectivity.

Officials with u-blox said that the transaction also gives the company immediate ownership of advanced Wi-Fi core technology that will help the company to develop ruggedized communication solutions tailored to demanding environments.

“The acquisition of Antcor’s technology and expertise significantly strengthens our chip design capabilities for short range wireless communications,” said Thomas Seiler, CEO of u-blox, in a statement.

Seiler said that their technology is a perfect complement to the company’s wireless communications and global positioning activities and expands the company’s ability to deliver robust, end-to-end M2M communication solutions to the customers.

Earlier in May, u-blox had announced the acquisition of Swedish connectBlue AB, an established provider of industrial-grade short range radio modules. These products support industry standards Bluetooth and IEEE (News - Alert) 802.11/Wi-Fi that enable the last hundreds of meters of connectivity between equipment and the internet.

The acquisition greatly enhances the u-blox portfolio of positioning and cellular wireless communications solutions with short range communication products. This strategic move broadens the u-blox module offering bringing within reach millions of devices connected to the internet.

Key applications include industrial machine-to-machine (M2M), medical equipment, data acquisition, vehicle monitoring and asset tracking systems.

Established in 2000, connectBlue has a market-proven portfolio of certified, industrial grade modules supporting popular Classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, and Wi-Fi standards. Their robust and high performance products guarantee long-term compatibility across product generations and technologies.

connectBlue’s operations in Malmö will become the new product center for short range radio. For existing connectBlue customers the current product offering will continue to be supported and further developed.