Follow-up of the acquisition of Provence-based PLDA by American tech giant Rambus

An external growth operation to better meet the needs of the next generation of data centers

With an eye towards providing improved connectivity, increased security, and faster speeds for data transfer and storage, in June 2021, Rambus acquired the Aix-en-Provence company PLDA.

Rambus, which has its corporate headquarters in San Jose, California, was founded more than 30 years ago to help solve the bottleneck between memory and processing. Rambus became a market leader thanks to its high-performance memory subsystems, providing chips, IP and innovations that maximize the performance and security in data-intensive systems. PLDA came to the attention of Rambus because there was a high value-added offer, complementary technology between the two companies’ products, and ongoing successful collaborations to serve customers they have in common. With this acquisition, Rambus now has two locations in the South of France, the PLDA site in Aix-en-Provence and the company’s offices in Marseille. Matt Jones, the Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Rambus, discusses the acquisition, which is being followed by Provence Promotion to consolidate the company’s territorial anchoring.

> What is the core business of the Rambus group?

Matt Jones: Our company produces semiconductor chips and silicon-based intellectual property that enhance data center connectivity. The company has become an industry leader by solving the bottleneck issues that can arise between memory and processing elements.

There has been an exponential growth in the volume of data processed by data centers due to the continued development of the cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML), as well as the move to 5G, the proliferation of connected objects (IoT), and the evolution of intelligent applications in the automotive sector. One of the big design challenges is to help data infrastructures handle this new volume by offering fast, safe, and high-performance connections.

Rambus products address these design challenges by providing semi-conductor solutions that fulfill today’s demanding data movement, storage, and security requirements. From the cloud to your connected object, real-time immersive applications are reliant on the speed and security of data transfers. Rambus’ innovative products provide the bandwidth, capacity, and security to meet the needs of this new generation of data centers and deliver better user experiences.

>  Why did you acquire PLDA in Aix-en-Provence?

Matt Jones: Rambus acquired PLDA in June 2021 to extend the company’s leadership with cutting-edge Compute Express Link and PCI Express digital IP. PLDA’s products were an ideal complement to Rambus’ high-speed PHY memory interface IP solutions and helped to expand the Rambus digital controller IP portfolio. Together, the Rambus and PLDA offerings form a complete interface subsystem solution for advanced applications for data centers, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and high-performance computing.

Rambus has integrated the PLDA team into the Rambus Interface IP business unit to combine offerings and increase the added value for customers. Prior to the acquisition there were existing relationships between the two companies as many customers selected PLDA digital controllers to be used in conjunction with PHY intellectual property developed by Rambus. Now, with the combination of solutions from PLDA and Rambus, we offer a single point of contact for chips and system designers. They have access to our comprehensive portfolio of leading-edge IP solutions. The PLDA solutions also provide key building blocks for our CXL Memory Interconnect Initiative. The PLDA team strengthens Rambus’ ability to focus on key markets, including data centers, 5G/Edge, IoT, automotive, and government/defense.

> What are your goals for the site in Aix-en-Provence?

Matt Jones: Rambus predicted, and has now realized, that the PLDA team would be an ideal fit culturally and technically. We are pleased to look forward to our future, combined success, now as one Rambus.

In our Aix-en-Provence office, we have more than 30 employees and we continue to recruit world-class engineering talent globally at this location. We expect to expand this office incrementally as the business continues to grow. We are currently hiring a number of ASIC/FPGA verification engineers to be based in Aix-en-Provence. As the CXL and PCIe protocols continue to evolve, the team in Aix-en-Provence will be working on new products that incorporate the performance benefits of these important technologies.

> Provence Promotion and Business France responded to your requests for information at the time of your investment? Today, what are your needs and expectations after your investment?

Matt Jones:  We appreciate the support from Provence Promotion and Business France, and the opportunity to collaborate as we expand our business operations in France. Our head of our operations in France is currently in contact with Provence Promotion for issues such as R&D funding and recruitment assistance. The agency also provides us with information about the territory and facilitates contacts.