Wolfson Microelectronics

Wolfson Microelectronics plc
Public limited company
Traded as LSE: WLF
Industry Semiconductor,
Digital signal processing,
Mixed-signal integrated circuits
Fate Acquired
Founded Edinburgh (1984)
Defunct April 28, 2014 (2014-04-28)
Headquarters Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Key people
 Mike Hickey (CEO)
Andy Brannan (CCO)
David Milne (Co-founder)
Jim Reid (Co-founder)
Number of employees
 430+
Website cirrus.com

Wolfson Microelectronics plc was a multinational microelectronics and fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It specialised in signal processing and mixed-signal chips for the consumer electronics market and had engineering and sales offices throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. In 2014 it was acquired by Cirrus Logic for £291 million.

History

Started in 1984 by David Milne and Jim Reid, Wolfson grew under their stewardship to float on the London Stock Exchange in 2003 and be listed in the FTSE 250. Both Milne and Reid had connections with the University of Edinburgh; Reid attained a First Class Honours degree in EEE, and Milne directed the Wolfson Microelectronics Institute at King's Buildings from 1973 to 1985.[1] In February, 2007, when Milne chose to step down, he was replaced in his CEO role by Dave Shrigley, previously Vice-President at Intel Corporation. His departure was one of a number of executive changes in late 2006, as Financial Director George Elliott also stood down.

In 2006, Milne was declared Entrepreneur of the Year by the CBI, and Wolfson named Company of the Year.[2] In November 2006 David Shrigley became the CEO of Wolfson, his first appointment at this level: he had previously worked for Intel in the Asia-Pacific region, and held directorships elsewhere.[3]

In September 2008, Mike Hickey joined Wolfson as Chief Executive Officer Designate and became Chief Executive Officer on 1 January 2009. Mr Hickey joined Wolfson from Motorola Inc, where he had held various senior positions in Motorola’s mobile device business.[4] In July 2009, Andy Brannan joined Wolfson as Chief Commercial Officer. Mr Brannan previously held the position of VP of Nokia's SOSCO business, and prior to that spent eight years as Executive VP of Sales & Customer Operations at Symbian Ltd.[5]

Cirrus Logic acquired the Wolfson for 235p per share in April 2014, valuing the company at £291 million.

Products

Wolfson products have found applications within the digital audio player market, such as in Microsoft's Zune product line, including the Zune 30 and Zune HD, Cowon's line of mp3 and PMP players, as well as providing the codec functionality for much of Apple Inc.'s iPod series (with the exception of the iPod shuffle[6] and iPod classic[7]) and Sony's PSP.[8] Wolfson chips have also found place in the Microsoft Xbox game console, Logitech Squeezebox Duet[9] and the PalmOne Treo smartphone, with the Apple connection continuing with the earlier versions of the iPhone[10] and iPod touch.[7][11]

Wolfson audio products can also be found in most Tegra 2 SoC devices and some devices like the Samsung Wave S8500 and Samsung i9000 Galaxy S smartphones,[12] as well as a number of LG phones including the LG-LB4400 music phone and the Android-powered LG Optimus GT540 smartphone.[13]

In April 2010, Wolfson signed a licence agreement with Tensilica to create a low power, high definition (HD) sound platform.[14]

Wolfson Microelectronics also produced the Audio Cards for Raspberry PI Model B Rev 2 named Wolfson Audio Card.[15][16] After Wolfson Microelectronics was purchased by Cirrus Logic the Audio Card for Raspberry PI Model B+ was renamed Cirrus Logic Audio Card.[17]

IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award

Main article: IEEE Maxwell Award

In a joint mission in 2006 with the IEEE and Royal Society of Edinburgh, Wolfson provided funding for an award, taking its name from the Scottish mathematician-physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879). This award recognizes work with "exceptional impact on the development of electronics and electrical engineering or related fields". Recipients receive $20,000 in addition to a gold medal, a bronze replica and a certificate, and is awarded up to two individuals chosen by a committee.[18][19][20]

Recipients

The following people received the IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award:[20][21]

References

  1. ↑ "Wolfson Press Release".
  2. ↑ "Chip hooray as Wolfson scoops double honour". The Scotsman. December 1, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  3. ↑ "'Ex-Intel Man to Head Wolfson'". The Inquirer. November 24, 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  4. ↑ "Appointment of Mike Hickey as Chief Executive Officer Designate". Investegate. September 8, 2008. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  5. ↑ "Former VP of Nokia to lead Sales & Product Marketing at Wolfson". Investegate. July 1, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  6. ↑ "Wolfson Microelectronics again supplies the audio codec with headphone amp". Electronic Engineering Times. January 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  7. 1 2 "Wolfson sales on track as it plays down iPod blow". The Scotsman. September 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  8. ↑ "Wolfson produces mixed-signal semiconductors for the digital consumer electronics market, including chips for the iPod and Sony's PSP.". ZDNet. October 26, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  9. ↑ "Squeezebox Duet Network Music System". Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  10. ↑ "Wolfson set to ring up profits from iPhone sales". The Scotsman. January 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  11. ↑ Arnott, Sarah (March 28, 2008). "'Wolfson slumps on loss of Apple contracts". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  12. ↑ "Samsung selects Wolfson's WM8994 for latest Bada and Android smartphones". CIE: Components in Electronics. June 14, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  13. ↑ "Wolfson Electronics' audio technology adopted by LG smartphones". IET: The Institution of Engineering and Technology. July 28, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  14. ↑ "Wolfson Licences Tensilica HiFi Audio to Provide a High Quality, Power Efficient Sound Platform". Yahoo! Finance. April 28, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  15. ↑ http://www.Element14.com/community/community/raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-accessories/wolfson_pi
  16. ↑ Wolfson Audio Card User Documentation
  17. ↑ http://www.Element14.com/community/community/raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-accessories/cirrus_logic_audio_card
  18. ↑ Jason Laday (January 11, 2007). "IEEE/Royal Society of Edinburgh And Wolfson Microelectronics Create New Award". The Institute. IEEE. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  19. ↑ "IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award". IEEE. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  20. 1 2 "IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  21. ↑ "IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award Recipients" (PDF). IEEE. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  22. ↑ "2016 IEEE Medals and Recognitions Recipients and Citations" (PDF). IEEE. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
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