One month, three deals, $6.7 billion: onsemi assembles an edge-AI stack
In one month onsemi has agreed a $5.7 billion cash buyout of Synaptics, opened talks near $1 billion for the AI-power startup Ferric and paid $14.5 million for Codasip's RISC-V cores. That is a fifth of its market value committed or under offer, and Monday's earnings land with the two biggest checks still open.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
The $14.5 million that finished a $6.7 billion month
On October 29, onsemi−0.05% — onsemi, down 0.05 percent today, the Scottsdale power-chip maker (Nasdaq: ON), bought the low-end RISC-V processor-IP business of Codasip for $14.5 million, a deal so far covered only in the trade press 1. It finishes a month that opened with the October 1 re-cut of the Synaptics takeover: $123 a share in cash, about $5.7 billion, down from roughly $7 billion in stock, after a rival approach chipmaker Cirrus Logic confirmed making and then dropped 23.
On October 27, The Information reported talks to buy Ferric, a New York power-chip startup founded in 2010, for close to $1 billion, possibly with payments tied to performance targets 45. At the reported price the three total about $6.7 billion, a fifth of onsemi's $30.6 billion market value 6.
One month, $6.7 billion: onsemi's October deals
- Estimate
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Synaptics, agreed Oct 1 | $5.7B |
| Ferric, in talks (estimate) | $1B |
| Codasip, closed Oct 29 | $14.5M |
Each purchase buys a different layer
Synaptics−0.45% — Synaptics, down 0.45 percent today (Nasdaq: SYNA), the San Jose chip company, brings edge processors, wireless connectivity and sensors, and in onsemi's own words complements its AI data-center business 2. Ferric's integrated voltage regulators feed power directly to AI processors, wasting less energy in transit 5. Codasip hands over the processor cores built on RISC-V, the openly licensed instruction set 1.
The war chest came from a shrinking core
Revenue fell three straight years, $8.25 billion in 2023, $7.08 billion in 2024, $6.0 billion in 2025, on $1.42 billion of free cash flow last year 6. Ten straight quarters of year-on-year decline ended in 2026: revenue rose 4.7 percent, then 9.2 percent, in the first two quarters 7.
Cash stood at $3.5 billion at the July quarter end 7, after July agreements to divest two fabs 8. Morgan Stanley's+1.35% — Morgan Stanley, up 1.35 percent today debt is fully committed with no financing condition, and the FTC has cleared the Synaptics deal 2. The stock closed October 28 at $75.63, 44 percent below its 52-week high 6.
Ten quarters of decline, then revenue growth returned in 2026
Data
| Quarterly revenue | |
|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | $2.18B |
| Q4 2023 | $2.02B |
| Q1 2024 | $1.86B |
| Q2 2024 | $1.74B |
| Q3 2024 | $1.76B |
| Q4 2024 | $1.72B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.45B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.47B |
| Q3 2025 | $1.55B |
| Q4 2025 | $1.53B |
| Q1 2026 | $1.51B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
The price of the parts is the risk
The bull case: the world's second-largest power-chip maker 6 is buying a whole edge-AI bill of materials at the bottom of its own cycle, immediately accretive to earnings, with $200 million of run-rate synergies 2.
The bear case: Ferric has raised about $41.8 million in its life and books little revenue, against a $10 billion market it estimates itself 9, and neither big check has closed. The Ferric talks could collapse and the Synaptics vote has not been scheduled 35. Paying up for AI power is the fashion anyway: Analog Devices+0.42% — Analog Devices, up 0.42 percent today agreed in May to buy Empower Semiconductor for $1.5 billion 5.
Monday prices the stack
Results land after the close on Monday, November 2, with the Ferric talks still live 10. Two dates decide the framing: a signed Ferric agreement, and a scheduled Synaptics shareholder meeting 3. By Tuesday morning onsemi is either an edge-AI platform with a $6.7 billion receipt, or a power-chip company carrying a $1 billion rumor on its books 3.
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