Chipmaker Imagination Technologies has announced a new licensing agreement with Apple.
The company, based in the United Kingdom, announced on Thursday (Jan 2) that it had inked a new partnership with Apple, which replaces the first licensing agreement signed in 2014.
However, there are limited details on what the new deal and its licenses actually cover.
In a press release published on the company’s site, Imagination has confirmed that Apple will pay licensing fees for access to a “wide range” of the company’s intellectual property.
“Imagination Technologies (“Imagination”) announces that it has replaced the multi-year, multi-use license agreement with Apple, first announced on February 6, 2014, with a new multi-year license agreement under which Apple has access to a wider range of Imagination’s intellectual property in exchange for license fees,” the press release read.
Imagination first worked with Apple on GPU designs, though the company suffered when Apple confirmed plans to bring its GPU design and development in-house back in 2017.
Following the news, Imagination revealed that Apple would stop using its IP in hardware by 2019, causing its stock to plummet. Apple’s deal was reportedly worth $81 million in 2017.
However, following Apple’s departure, the company entered into a dispute resolution process and accused the Cupertino firm of “unauthorized use of Imagination’s confidential information and Imagination’s intellectual property rights.”
The company was sold to the Chinese equity firm Canyon Bridge for £550 million in 2017.
With Apple renewing its partnership with Imagination Technologies, it will be interesting to see what new technology it is working on behind the scenes.
Though Apple ultimately wants to bring design and development of its products in-house, working with third parties allows it to stay ahead of the curve and develop in new areas where it has less experience and talent.
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