The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Marvell agreed in 2019 to buy Avera Semiconductor, GlobalFoundries’ application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) business, and completed the acquisition on November 5, 2019. The announced price was $650 million in cash plus a possible additional $90 million; Marvell later reported $593.5 million in purchase consideration, net of working capital and other adjustments. A separate GlobalFoundries–Marvell agreement announced in 2026 concerns manufacturing capacity, not another sale of the ASIC business.
What is Avera Semiconductor?
Avera Semiconductor was the ASIC business that GlobalFoundries agreed to sell to Marvell in 2019. ASICs are chips designed for particular applications rather than general-purpose computing. In announcing the deal, Marvell described Avera as bringing custom design capabilities, a revenue base and strategic design wins with infrastructure original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The companies did not publish figures for Avera’s revenue, market share or customer count in the reviewed transaction materials.
Marvell said the acquisition would broaden its offerings from standard and semi-custom products to full ASIC solutions. CEO Matt Murphy said, “Our acquisition of Avera enables us to offer the complete spectrum of product architectures spanning standard, semi-custom to full ASIC solutions.” This was the company’s strategic rationale, not a measured result of the acquisition.
When did Marvell buy Avera?
Marvell announced definitive agreements to acquire Avera on May 20, 2019. Its SEC-filed annual report says the acquisition closed on November 5, 2019. The transaction is completed; it is not a current sale process.
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- Air Cooling & Low Noise Operation – This air-cooled ASIC development board runs at 50dB, maintaining stable temperature during long testing sessions.
- 4x BM1370 Chips – Equipped with 4 dedicated BM1370 ASIC chips to deliver steady processing capacity, ideal for chip testing, algorithm verification and embedded system debugging.
- Open Source Firmware – Fully open-source firmware with public code access. Ethernet supports remote monitoring and setting adjustment through a web browser.
- Compact & Lightweight Design – Net weight only 0.45kg, with 10×14×18cm dimensions, perfect for placement on lab benches and workstations.
- Built-in IPS Display – Integrated IPS screen shows real-time operating data for convenient setup and daily testing.
How much did Marvell pay for GlobalFoundries’ ASIC business?
The announcement terms and the later reported consideration are different figures and should not be treated as interchangeable.
| Measure | What the companies or filing reported |
|---|---|
| Announced cash at closing | $650 million, stated in the May 2019 announcement. |
| Possible additional payment | Up to $90 million if specified business conditions were met within 15 months, according to the May 2019 announcement. |
| Later reported purchase consideration | $593.5 million, net of working capital and other adjustments, as reported by Marvell in its SEC-filed annual report. |
| Additional-asset condition | Marvell later reported that the condition for the additional asset purchase was terminated by agreement with GlobalFoundries in July 2020. |
| Transaction status | Closed November 5, 2019, according to Marvell’s annual report. |
The $650 million and possible $90 million describe the announced terms; $593.5 million is the later filing’s net purchase-consideration figure. Because the figures use different descriptions and accounting adjustments, the announcement’s headline amount should not be presented as the final net consideration.
Rank #2
- The Coral Dev Board Mini is a single-board computer that enables you to quickly prototype and deploy an embedded system with on-device ML inferencing.
- The board includes the Edge TPU coprocessor, which is a small ASIC designed by Google that accelerates TensorFlow Lite models in a power efficient manner. It's capable of performing 4 trillion operations (tera-operations) per second (tops), using 0.5 watts for each tops (2 tops per watt).
- Provides a complete system: a single-board computer with SoC + ML + wireless connectivity, all on the board running a derivative of Debian Linux we call Mendel, so you can run your favorite Linux tools with this board.
- Supports TensorFlow Lite: no need to build models from the ground up. Tensorflow Lite models can be compiled to run on the Edge TPU.
- Supports AutoML Vision Edge: easily build and deploy fast, high-accuracy custom image classification models to your device..MediaTek 8167s SoC (Quad-core Arm Cortex-A35).2 GB LPDDR3 and 8 GB eMMC memory
What did the 2019 deal include, and why did Marvell pursue it?
Marvell framed the acquisition as a way to combine Avera’s custom ASIC design capabilities and infrastructure OEM design wins with Marvell’s technology platform and scale. Its stated target markets included wired and wireless infrastructure, including 5G base stations. The announcement also referred to Avera’s revenue base, without quantifying it, and a new long-term wafer supply agreement between GlobalFoundries and Marvell.
Those statements explain the companies’ rationale and expectations at announcement. They do not, on their own, establish that the expected strategic or financial benefits were later achieved.
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A later agreement announced on September 17, 2026, is a separate development. GlobalFoundries and Marvell said they would expand capacity for GlobalFoundries’ silicon germanium (SiGe) technology at its Burlington, Vermont facility to support demand for next-generation optical connectivity. GlobalFoundries described the agreement as building on more than a decade of collaboration.
| Development | Date | What it concerns | Stated purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avera acquisition | Announced May 20, 2019; closed November 5, 2019 | Marvell’s acquisition of GlobalFoundries’ ASIC business | Combine custom design capabilities with Marvell’s platform and scale for infrastructure markets. |
| Expanded SiGe agreement | Announced September 17, 2026 | Expanded manufacturing capacity at GlobalFoundries’ Burlington facility | Support demand for next-generation optical connectivity. |
The 2026 announcement is about manufacturing capacity and technology collaboration. It does not describe a second sale of Avera or GlobalFoundries’ ASIC business.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- NerdMiner V2 Preloaded Bitcoin Lottery Miner Comes with NerdMiner V2 preloaded for Bitcoin lottery-style solo mining. Connect to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and complete setup to use it as a compact desktop BTC lottery miner. Typical performance is about 350 KH/s and may vary by settings and network conditions.
- ESP32-WROOM-32E Module Inside Built with the ESP32-WROOM-32E wireless module, supporting 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and BLE. It is also a programmable ESP32 development board for IoT, smart home, sensor display, dashboard and DIY electronics projects.
- 2.8 Inch 240x320 Touch Display Features a 2.8-inch 240 x 320 TFT LCD touch screen with resistive touch control. Suitable for status display, menu control, graphical interface, monitoring dashboard and custom touchscreen applications.
- Reprogrammable Development Board NerdMiner V2 is only the preloaded application. Users can erase or replace it with compatible ESP32 programs using Arduino IDE, PlatformIO, ESP-IDF or MicroPython for custom development projects.
- Complete Desktop Kit Includes the ESP32-2432S028R-PLUS touch screen development board, 3D-printed protective case and USB Type-C data cable. MicroSD card, battery, touch stylus, sensors and expansion modules are not included.
Sources
- GlobalFoundries’ May 20, 2019 announcement.
- Marvell’s May 20, 2019 announcement.
- Marvell’s SEC-filed annual report, reporting the closing date, net purchase consideration and termination of the additional-asset condition.
- GlobalFoundries’ September 17, 2026 announcement of expanded SiGe capacity.
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