Nvidia to acquire Finland's Hybrid

Nvidia Corporation, a global corporation in programmable graphics processor technologies, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Finland based Hybrid Graphics Ltd., a developer of embedded 2D and 3D graphics software for handheld devices. This acquisition will enable the customers of both companies to deploy compelling graphics solutions for the entire worldwide handheld market. Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, Hybrid Graphics will become a subsidiary of NVIDIA Corporation and will continue to market and sell its products under the Hybrid name. Hybrid Graphics will maintain full support for its existing customer base, while continuing to invest in growing its engineering department as well as driving new business opportunities. No further terms of the acquisition were disclosed. “Since its inception, Hybrid has successfully delivered graphics solutions to hundreds of millions of handheld devices. We provide innovative graphics technology and we make it work in the real world, in real devices,” said Mikael Honkavaara, CEO of Hybrid Graphics. “Joining with NVIDIA will enable Hybrid to both accelerate its growth and continue to play a key role in defining, developing and shipping pervasive graphics solutions for the handheld industry.” Founded in 1994 and based in Finland, Hybrid Graphics is a highly respected software company at the forefront of developing and licensing graphics technology solutions for handheld consumer devices. Hybrid's customers are key players in the mobile industry including Nokia, Ericsson, Philips, Samsung, and Symbian whose total reach is well over 50% of the existing handheld market. Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer, NVIDIA, stated: “Over the next decade, billions of handheld devices will be sold and for many, they are likely to become their most important computing device. These powerful and multi-function handheld devices will require rich graphics and by combining with the recognized leader in handheld graphics software, we are positioned to accelerate the adoption of graphics by offering the handheld industry a range of solutions from software to IP to GPUs.”