The ink has dried on the opening paragraph of TiVo’s next chapter, completing its merger with semiconductor maker Xperi after joining hands in the dying days of 2019.
As expected, the TiVo legacy will live on – for now – with Xperi operating a number of technology brands which together form an intellectual property powerhouse.
Long before a deal was struck, it was clear that Android TV Operator Tier would be central to TiVo’s new software direction away from DVRs, securing deployments at TDS Telecom, and Tele2/Com Hem, as two examples either side of the pond, to offset its replacement at big accounts like Liberty Global’s Virgin Media UK operation. But there is much more to the merger than developing custom launchers and content discovery software for the burgeoning Android TV market.
Home is where the start is for new TiVo, while a combined platform plans to expand TiVo’s content aggregation and recommendation engine clout into the mobile device and automotive spaces, where Xperi’s silicon and audio technology portfolio has an established footprint. Having TiVo’s software deeply integrated on the silicon level will create new opportunities for content providers, CE manufacturers and auto firms, although our concern is that it could create a vendor lock-in situation that companies particularly in the open entertainment ecosystem are so keen to avoid.
The announcement promises a merged entity tipped to “invent, develop and deliver technologies that enable extraordinary experiences, ultimately making entertainment more entertaining and smart devices even smarter for tens of millions of individual consumers.”
The announcement also promises continued investments in “groundbreaking technologies” spanning the existing IP portfolio plus “new and exciting inventions” – which is not a statement we will let Xperi forget in a hurry. As it stands, the combined IP portfolio spans more than 11,000 patents and applications, which is massive revenue winner for the business particularly on a recurring subscriber-based IP basis which is key to stability.
We can’t say what form TiVo’s innovations will take under Xperi leadership, recent moves include the integration of ViacomCBS-owned Pluto TV into its platform for on-click access to programming for Pluto TV’s 22m US monthly active users. TiVo also just released its new Stream 4K dongle, integrated with Dish Network’s Sling TV, which could be considered one last hurrah in hardware for the company before it begins a new embedded journey.
Xperi is best known for chip packaging technology through its subsidiary Invenas, which also works on edge processing platforms and image sensors. Xperi’s Fotonation arm brings advanced imaging techniques to smartphone cameras, applying algorithms and efficient processing power in constrained systems like mobile devices to power features like facial recognition, iris recognition, and image stabilization.
Fotonation’s Image Processing Unit even claims to offer the world’s first real-time AI-enabled imaging engine, which delivers latency, lower bandwidth and reduced power consumption for camera applications. DTS is another Xperi brand, which develops a variety of multichannel audio and surround sound technologies.
Financially speaking, Xperi said back in December that the new company had $1.1bn in TiVo revenue and Xperi billings (which Xperi prefers to use as a key measure of performance since billings closely aligns with its cash collection), as well as $250m in operating cash flow for the year ended September 2019.