Qualcomm terminated a proposed acquisition of Israeli chip company Autotalks, blaming a slow regulatory process for holding up the deal.

The US chip giant stated it had decided to end its interest in acquiring Autotalks “due to a lack of regulatory approvals in a timely manner”, while adding automotive is a very important vertical and it remained fully committed to its roadmap.

Qualcomm announced the deal to acquire Autotalks in May 2023, stating it wanted to incorporate the company’s vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications technology products into its own Snapdragon Digital Chassis portfolio.

Autotalks develops standalone safety chips for manned and driverless vehicles to improve road safety. Qualcomm has stated the electric vehicle and autonomous driving sectors are an emerging growth area for the company.

However, the tie-up ran into regulatory hurdles shortly after being announced as 15 European Union member states requested the European Commission examine the deal. In announcing the probe, the EC explained the transaction would combine the two main suppliers of V2X semiconductors in Europe.

EC’s probe was followed by a similar investigation in the UK by the country’s Competition and Markets Authority.