It is the outfit’s second major acquisition as it deepens its push into semiconductors for self driving cars.

Renesas is second only to NXP Semiconductors in auto-related chips and commands 30 percent of the global market for microcontrollers used in cars. But it is weak in analogue chips which process signals from things such as sound, light or temperature into digital data.

The outfit wants to get its paws on IDT’s analogue semiconductors for wireless networks and sensors expertise.

Its  Chief Executive Officer Bunsei Kure told a news conference: “We were weak in chips for wireless networks needed for the Internet of things and connected cars. We’ve been wanting to get such assets.”

Renesas said that the combination with IDT will allow the Japanese firm to provide more comprehensive chip systems for its clients. IDT is also strong in chips for data centres, opening up a new stream of revenue for Renesas.