Espressif Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Espressif; Chinese: 乐鑫科技; pinyin: Lèxīn Kējì) is a publicly listed Chinese semiconductor company headquartered in Shanghai. It focuses on developing and selling wireless fidelity microcontroller unit communication chips and modules that are used in internet of things (IoT).

History

In 2008, Espressif was founded in China by Singaporean national, Teo Swee Ann. Teo who graduated from National University of Singapore with degrees in electrical engineering had worked for Montage Technology as an engineering director.[2]

Espressif initially started as one-man consulting firm which later expanded. However due to small quantity of chips commissioned by Espressif, foundries tended to reject it. However TSMC who had heard of Teo's work at Montage Technology gave Espressif a chance and became its supplier.[2]

On 22 July 2019, Espressif heard its initial public offering and became a listed company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market. The offering raised 1.2 billion yuan.[3]

In March 2022, it was reported that Espressif was moving exclusively to the RISC-V open source instruction set architecture.[4]

As of September 2023, Espressif has shipped over 1 billion IoT chips and is the fifth largest company in the Wi-Fi microcontrollers business.[5]

Business operations

Since establishment, Espressif has remained profitable. Rather than buying existing solutions which is a common practice in the chip industry, Espressif performs its own engineering and has a very cost effective method of designing chips. Managers and directors are expected to do coding in addition to their managerial duties.[2]

Espressif adopts a sales model that is mainly direct sales and supplemented by distribution.[5]

Products

Espressif has established itself in providing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-integrated devices and solutions.[2] Initially focusing on Wi-Fi microcontrollers, the company has expanded into the fields artificial intelligence of things and system on a chip.[5]

Two of Espressif most well known semiconductor products are the ESP8266 and its successor ESP32. They are used in products such as coffee machines and light bulbs, as well as providers of smart city and automation solutions. They are also used by DIY tech hobbyists[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2023 Annual Report" (PDF). Espressif.
  2. ^ a b c d e Tay, Peck Gek (25 July 2023). "Singapore's '007' who took the world by storm with his chips". Business Times. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  3. ^ Platonov, Ivan (17 July 2019). "The 'Star' Goes Wireless: Espressif Systems Prices IPO at CNY 62.60 per Share". EqualOcean. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  4. ^ Flaherty, Nick (2 May 2022). "Espressif moves exclusively to RISC-V". eeNews Europe. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "全球第五，乐鑫科技凭什么". QQ (in Chinese (China)). 2 August 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espressif_Systems
No tags for this post.