Broadcom to acquire Global Locate, a provider of GPS technology

Broadcom Corporation, of Irvine, Calif. a maker of semiconductors for communications, said it has agreed to acquire Global Locate, a private San Jose, Calif. fabless provider of global positioning system (GPS) and assisted GPS (A-GPS) semiconductor products and software.

The amount was undisclosed.

GPS is expected to join Bluetooth and similar wireless technologies as a pervasive feature in next generation mobile devices, Broadcom said in a statement. Global Locate’s semiconductor products are used in mobile phones and incorporated into products from TomTom NV, a large personal navigation device vendor.

Here is the statement.

Global Locate is another one of those companies founded at the height of the Internet boom in early 1999. Our records show that the company soaked up $30 million from investors such as Motorola, GC Investments, Firsthand Capital Management and Siemens Venture Capital.