May 8 Reuters Chip designer Qualcomm Inc said on Monday it would buy Israel39;s Autotalks Ltd that makes chips used in technology aimed at preventing vehicle crashes, as the U.S. firm looks to deepen its automotive business.

With increasing electric vehicles and automatic features in cars, the number of chips used by automakers is surging, making the automotive market a key growth area for chipmakers.

Autotalks makes dedicated chips used in the vehicletoeverything V2X communications technology for manned and driverless vehicles to improve road safety.

We have been investing in V2X research, development and deployment since 2017 and believe that as the automotive market matures, a standalone V2X safety architecture will be needed for enhanced road user safety, as well as smart transportation systems, Nakul Duggal, senior vicepresident automotive, Qualcomm Technologies, said in a statement.

Qualcomm had said last year that its automotive business pipeline had increased to 30 billion, up more than 10 billion since an announcement in late July.

The company had credited the jump to its Snapdragon Digital Chassis product used by car makers and their suppliers. The Snapdragon Digital Chassis can provide assisted and autonomous driving technology, as well as incar infotainment and cloud connectivity.

Qualcomm on Monday said it would incorporate Autotalks39; solutions into Snapdragon Digital Chassis product portfolio, but did not elaborate on the financials of the deal….