Audinate continues its commitment to video with acquisition of Silex Insight

The acquisition of the video division of Silex Insight, which specialises in video networking solutions that can be integrated into professional AV products, strengthens the Audinar (Dante) role in the AV ecosystem.

The acquisition covers a wide range of AV-over-IP products, including IP cores or the VIPER board, as well as three Silex implementations of video codecs: Colibri, JPEG 2000 e VC-2 HQ. Audinate, which will integrate a team of 8 engineers with extensive video implementation experience into its team, remains committed to supporting the Silex existing products and customers. The proposed transaction is a spin-off of the Silex video business, which will retain its existing security business, and is expected to be completed by 31 January 2022.

With this acquisition, Audinate will seek to “accelerate its strategic vision” of integrating audio and video over IP. Similarly, the company seeks to “add breadth and depth” to its AV over IP product line. Finally, the transaction will increase video FPGA expertise within the company and consolidate its video engineering team in Europe.

Aidan Williams, co-founder and CEO of Audinate, explains the rationale behind the acquisition: “Since the development of our first Dante AV product, we have been committed to bringing the simplicity and interoperability of Dante to the video over IP market. With this acquisition, we are doubling down on that strategy. The team’s video codecs and deep product expertise, combined with our Dante network technology, will allow us to go to market with a variety of full-service video offerings.”

Michel Van Maercke, CEO of Silex Insight, adds his view of the deal: “Audinate is an excellent new home for our video team, customers and suppliers, as there is a unique complement in knowledge, skills and experience. In addition, we see a great cultural fit and a similar customer-focused mindset, which is critical to a successful post-acquisition integration. I’m confident that the Silex video team will do very well as part of Audinate and make a real difference in the exciting Pro AV market.”