Renesas Electronics Corp., a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has announced that Renesas Mobile Corp., which engages in SoC businesses mainly for mobile devices and car navigation systems, started operation on December 1. The company also announced that it completed the purchase of the wireless modem business of Nokia Corp. on November 30 and has transferred its assets of the wireless modem business to Renesas Mobile together with Renesas Electronics’ mobile multimedia SoC business, which Renesas Electronics span off, through an absorption-type separation on December 1.

By combining Renesas Electronics’ mobile platforms and the assets of the wireless modem business acquired from Nokia, Renesas Electronics and Renesas Mobile plan to strengthen their product offerings targeting devices incorporating LTE and HSPA+ infrastructure technologies for the growing cloud computing field, as well as markets of mobile phones and car navigation systems, mainly in emerging countries.

Renesas Mobile has regional subsidiary companies based in Finland, India and China, staffed by personnel transferring from the wireless modem business Renesas acquired from Nokia Corp., as well as Renesas Design France S.A.S, a SoC design subsidiary of Renesas Electronics. Of the 1,800 consolidated employees of Renesas Mobile, 75 percent are based outside Japan, which enables the company to promote marketing and design and development operations on a global basis.

By leveraging the acquired LTE and HSPA+ technologies, Renesas Mobile aims to expand its business in mobile platforms and embedded navigation applications mainly in overseas markets. It also plans to start its long-term joint research cooperation with Nokia on next-generation communication technologies.