Intel is selling its Wind River embedded software business, having bought it in 2009 as part of a strategy to move into segments including mobile devices.

The chipmaker paid around $884 million to acquire Wind River, stating the deal would boost its efforts in markets beyond PCs and servers. It said the company would give it “robust software capabilities in embedded systems and mobile devices, both important growth areas for the company”.

However, Intel was unable to build its mobile business and Tom Lantzsch, SVP and general manager of Intel’s IoT Group, said the sale of Wind River “is designed to sharpen our focus on growth opportunities that align to Intel’s data-centric strategy”.

“Wind River will remain an important ecosystem partner, and we will continue to collaborate on critical software-defined infrastructure opportunities to advance an autonomous future,” he continued.

Wind River has considerable pedigree in providing embedded software for markets including robotics, medical devices, aircraft, cars and communications infrastructure. It is being acquired by investment firm TPG Capital and the existing management will continue to lead the business after the transaction.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jim Douglas, president of Wind River, said: “This acquisition will establish Wind River as a leading independent software provider uniquely positioned to advance digital transformation within critical infrastructure segments with our comprehensive edge to cloud portfolio.”

“At the same time, TPG will provide Wind River with the flexibility and financial resources to fuel our many growth opportunities as a standalone software company that enables the deployment of safe, secure, and reliable intelligent systems.”