Company:U-blox

From HandWiki
u-blox Holding AG
TypePublic
SIX: UBXN
IndustrySemiconductors, Internet of Things (IoT)
Founded1997
Headquarters
Thalwil, canton of Zürich, Switzerland
Key people
  • Stephan Zizala (CEO)
  • André Müller (Chairman)
RevenueIncrease SFr 262.9 million (2021)[1]
Increase SFr 121.8 million (2021)[2]
Increase SFr 101.8 million (2021)[2]
Number of employees
850 (2025)[3]
Websitewww.u-blox.com

u-blox is a Swiss company that creates wireless semiconductors and modules for consumer, automotive and industrial markets. They operate as a fabless IC and design house. The company is listed at the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX:UBXN) and has offices in the US, Singapore, China, Taiwan (China), Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan, Australia, Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Greece.

History

u-blox is a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH)[4][5] and was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Thalwil, Switzerland. Thomas Seiler served as chief executive officer of u-blox AG from 2002 until his retirement on Dec 31, 2022. Stephan Zizala, who joined the company in 2022, succeeded Seiler.[6]

In 2016, u-blox opened a new office in Taipei, Taiwan.[7]

In August 2025, private equity firm Advent International agreed to buy u-blox for $1.3 billion.[8]

Products and technology

u-blox provides starter kits which allow quick prototyping of variety of applications for the Internet of Things.[9] It develops and sells chips and modules that support global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), including receivers for GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS.[10] The wireless range consists of GSM-, UMTS- and CDMA2000 and LTE modules, as well as Bluetooth- and WiFi-modules. All these products enable the delivery of complete systems for location-based services and M2M applications (machine-to-machine communication) in the Internet of Things, that rely on the convergence of 2G/3G/4G, Bluetooth-, Wi-Fi technology and satellite navigation.[11] A collaboration to create GNSS receiver that work globally was started between u-blox, SoftBank and ALES in 2021.[12] One year later, in 2022, u-blox released the at the time smallest LTE Cat 4 Module LARA-L6.[13] The company launched a dual-band GNSS module in 2023 that uses the L1 as well as the L5 GPS frequency bands.[14] In 2024 u-blox released the LEXI-R10, which was, according to the company, the smallest LTE Cat 1bis module at time of launch.[15][16]

Acquisitions

They acquired a dozen companies after their IPO in 2007, after acquiring connectblue[17] in 2014 and Lesswire in 2015 [18] they acquired Rigado's module business in 2019.[19] In 2020, u-blox acquired Thingstream.[20] In 2021, u-blox AG acquired Sapcorda Services GmbH, a provider of high precision GNSS (global navigation satellite system) services.[21] and Naventik GmbH, a German company specializing in the development of safe positioning solutions for autonomous driving.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "u-blox Annual Report 2024". https://content.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/documents/annual-report-2024.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "u-blox Annual Report 2022". https://report2022.u-blox.com/. 
  3. ↑ "Key figures". https://content.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/documents/half-year-results-presentation-2025.pdf. 
  4. ↑ Jain, Sakshi (2023-06-13). "The core idea behind u-blox has always been to explore new business opportunities using module-based solutions with third-party chips- Andreas Thiel" (in en-US). https://www.eletimes.com/the-core-idea-behind-u-blox-has-always-been-to-explore-new-business-opportunities-using-module-based-solutions-with-third-party-chips-andreas-thiel. 
  5. ↑ "Well positioned with GPS technology". https://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_articles/071221-ublox/index_EN.html. 
  6. ↑ "u-blox announces CEO transition effective 1 January 2023". 24 May 2022. https://www.u-blox.com/en/u-blox-announces-ceo-transition-effective-1-january-2023. 
  7. ↑ "u-blox Taiwan expands into new Taipei offices". 2016-05-18. https://www.iot-now.com/2016/05/18/47471-u-blox-taiwan-expands-into-new-taipei-offices/. 
  8. ↑ Figueras, Andrea. "Advent International to Buy U-blox For $1.3 Billion" (in en-US). https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/advent-international-to-buy-u-blox-for-1-3-billion-89d58fcb. 
  9. ↑ "u-blox C027 | Mbed". https://os.mbed.com/platforms/u-blox-C027/. 
  10. ↑ "Chinese car maker chose u-blox GNSS receiver". electronicsweekly.com. 2021-01-14. https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/chinese-car-maker-chooses-u-blox-gnss-receiver-2021-01/. 
  11. ↑ "U-blox Sharpens Focus on Connected Car Market". insideunmannedsystems.com. 2015-12-09. https://insideunmannedsystems.com/u-blox-sharpens-focus-on-connected-car-market/. 
  12. ↑ "SoftBank Corp. and u-blox to Collaborate on Global GNSS Augmentation Services". insidegnss.com. 2021-11-19. https://insidegnss.com/softbank-corp-and-u%E2%80%91blox-to-collaborate-on-global-gnss-augmentation-services/. 
  13. ↑ "Smallest LTE Cat 4 Module with Global Coverage and 2G/3G Fallback". nasdaq.com. 2022-05-24. https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/u-blox-ag:-u-blox-launches-worlds-smallest-lte-cat-4-module-with-global-coverage-and. 
  14. ↑ "u-blox Introduces F10 Dual-Band GNSS Platform for Superior Urban Positioning Accuracy". insidegnss.com. 2024-03-20. https://insidegnss.com/u-blox-introduces-f10-dual-band-gnss-platform-for-superior-urban-positioning-accuracy/. 
  15. ↑ "Universally Applicable 4G Cellular Modules in Compact Form Factor Target IoT Usage". epdtonthenet.net. 2024-06-23. https://www.epdtonthenet.net/article/206103/Universally-Applicable-4G-Cellular-Modules-in-Compact-Form-Factor-Target-IoT-Usage.aspx. 
  16. ↑ "u-blox launches new LTE Cat 1bis cellular modules". electronicspecifier.com. 2024-06-18. https://www.electronicspecifier.com/products/iot/u-blox-launches-new-lte-cat-1bis-cellular-modules. 
  17. ↑ "u-blox acquires connectBlue; adds Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity". http://www.connectblue.com/fileadmin/Connectblue/Web2006/Documents/Press_releases/PRESS_RELEASE_connectBlue_u-blox.pdf. 
  18. ↑ "u-blox acquires automotive short range modules business from Lesswire" (in en-US). 2014-12-02. https://www.u-blox.com/en/investor-press-releases/u-blox-acquires-automotive-short-range-modules-business-lesswire. 
  19. ↑ u-blox acquired Rigado's Bluetooth Modules Business
  20. ↑ "Thingstream acquired by u-blox". April 2020. https://www.u-blox.com/en/investor-press-releases/u-blox-acquires-iot-communication-service-provider-thingstream. 
  21. ↑ "u-blox acquires full ownership in Sapcorda Joint Venture". 18 March 2021. https://www.u-blox.com/en/investor-press-releases/u-blox-acquires-full-ownership-in-sapcorda-joint-venture. 
  22. ↑ "u-blox and Naventik". https://www.itsax.de/partner_profil/naventik/naventik-gmbh-acquired-by-u-blox-in-chemnitz. 



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