Ceva Highlights Breakthrough Year for AI Licensing and Physical AI Adoption in 2025
Rhea-AI Summary
Ceva (NASDAQ: CEVA) said 2025 was a breakthrough year for its AI licensing, signing 10 NeuPro NPU agreements and reporting AI contributed more than 20% of annual licensing revenue in 2025. Multiple customers are expected to have silicon by end of 2026, increasing royalty visibility.
Notable deals include a strategic NPU license with a leading PC OEM and a comprehensive NeuPro portfolio license with Microchip, while AI DSP and connectivity pairings expand addressable edge markets.
Positive
- AI >20% of licensing revenue in 2025
- 10 NeuPro NPU agreements signed in 2025
- Six customers expected to have silicon by end of 2026
- Strategic NPU license with a leading PC OEM
- Comprehensive NeuPro portfolio license with Microchip
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, CEVA declined 9.79%, reflecting a notable negative market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +2.4% during that session. Argus tracked a trough of -17.3% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 16 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $66M from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $612M at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
CEVA gained 0.53% while peers were mixed: IMOS -1.2%, POET -1.24%, SKYT +2.38%, AIP -5.86%, LAES flat. Moves do not indicate a unified sector rotation.
Previous AI Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 06 | AI design win | Positive | +2.4% | NXP integrated Ceva’s SensPro AI DSP into automotive processors. |
| Jan 06 | AI licensing deal | Positive | +2.4% | BOS Semiconductors licensed SensPro AI DSP for Eagle-A ADAS SoC. |
| Oct 28 | AI ecosystem launch | Positive | -0.3% | Launch of ModelNova platform for NeuPro NPUs with optimized AI models. |
| Oct 21 | Wi‑Fi 7 AI IP | Positive | -0.7% | Availability of Ceva-Waves Wi‑Fi 7 client IP for AI-enabled IoT devices. |
| Sep 17 | AI leadership hire | Positive | +1.8% | Appointment of former Microsoft AI and hardware leader to drive AI strategy. |
AI-related headlines have usually produced modest positive reactions, but with occasional negative responses despite constructive news.
Across recent AI-tagged releases, CEVA has highlighted design wins, ecosystem expansion, and leadership hires. October 2025 updates on ModelNova for NeuPro NPUs and Wi‑Fi 7 client IP framed the Physical AI and edge AI roadmap. The September 2025 AI leadership appointment underscored strategic focus. January 2026 AI partnerships with NXP and BOS Semiconductors reinforced traction in automotive and software-defined vehicles. Today’s AI licensing milestone fits this progression toward deeper edge AI adoption and royalty potential.
Historical Comparison
Over five prior AI-tagged releases, CEVA’s average 1-day move was +1.13%. Today’s +0.53% reaction sits on the lower end of that range.
AI-tagged news shows a progression from strategic hiring and ecosystem tools to concrete NPU and AI DSP design wins across automotive and IoT.
Market Pulse Summary
The stock moved -9.8% in the session following this news. A negative reaction despite upbeat AI commentary would fit past instances where constructive technology updates did not prevent short-term pullbacks. Historical AI-tagged news produced an average 1-day move of +1.13%, but some events saw declines, underscoring that design wins and ecosystem steps do not always offset broader concerns about losses or dilution detailed in recent filings. Such patterns suggest that sentiment can quickly refocus on fundamentals.
Key Terms
neural processing unit technical
on-device ai inference technical
advanced driver assistance systems technical
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
As AI expands beyond the cloud into real-world devices, demand is accelerating for optimized, power-efficient neural processing architectures supporting both edge and hybrid AI models. This shift is driving broader adoption of on-device AI inference across diversified smart edge markets and further positions Ceva as a foundational enabler of Physical AI -- where connectivity, sensing and inference converge inside intelligent devices.
A key highlight of the year was a strategic NPU licensing agreement with one of the world's leading PC original equipment manufacturers, which selected Ceva's high-performance NeuPro NPUs as foundational IP for its next-generation on-device AI compute architecture. This design win validates Ceva's scalable NPU strategy, spanning high-performance architectures deployable across PC, automotive, advanced consumer and other compute-intensive platforms. It also underscores the rising importance of dedicated NPUs as AI capabilities become native to operating systems and applications across devices.
Earlier in the year Ceva achieved another notable highlight, signing a comprehensive NeuPro™ NPU portfolio license with Microchip Technology, one of the world's leading microcontroller and connectivity providers. Under the agreement, Microchip adopted Ceva's NPUs to embed AI capabilities broadly across its product families, reflecting a broader industry trend toward standardizing on proven NPU architectures as AI becomes a core feature across semiconductor platforms. Additional NPU engagements announced during the year included wins with ALi Corp and Nextchip, expanding Ceva's AI footprint across consumer electronics, video platforms, and automotive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems applications.
Throughout 2025, Ceva's NPU licenses spanned both ultra-low-power and high-performance inference, addressing audio, vision, video and multi-sensor AI workloads across consumer, automotive, industrial, PC and infrastructure markets. Several of these NPU wins were with existing high-volume connectivity customers expanding into AI, increasing content per device and strengthening long-term royalty potential. Across all NPU agreements, six customers are expected to have silicon back by the end of 2026, providing increasing visibility into future deployments and royalty ramps as the industry transitions from AI evaluation to deployment.
Complementing its NPU momentum, Ceva also signed multiple AI Digital Signal Processor ("DSP") licensing agreements in 2025 across automotive and consumer markets. These AI DSPs are increasingly deployed alongside NPUs, where they efficiently execute neural networks, perform real-time signal processing, and pre-process data from image sensors and other inputs before inference - particularly in vision, audio and sensor-rich applications. In many cases, these AI deployments are paired with Ceva's connectivity IP, enabling customers to optimize performance, power efficiency and system costs while supporting higher-value, multi-generation royalty streams and strengthening the company's licensing-to-royalty flywheel.
Overall, AI represented more than
Amir Panush, Chief Executive Officer of Ceva, commented: "2025 marked a pivotal year for our AI strategy. The breadth of NPU and AI DSP licenses we signed - from microcontrollers and PCs to automotive and consumer devices - demonstrates that AI at the edge is moving from experimentation to deployment. As AI increasingly shifts into physical devices, the ability to combine connectivity, sensing and inference uniquely positions us to enable the next generation of Physical AI systems across the smart edge."
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that if they materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of Ceva to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. Forward-looking statements include statements about Ceva's positioning for sustainable future growth and to serve as a foundational technology provider for intelligent, connected devices, licensing agreement wins, future industry demand, our market position for the future, and expectations about future market. The risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause differing Ceva results include: the effect of intense industry competition; the ability of Ceva's technologies and products incorporating Ceva's technologies to achieve market acceptance; Ceva's ability to meet changing needs of end-users and evolving market demands; the lengthy sales cycle for IP and related solutions; Ceva's ability to diversify royalty streams and license revenues; geopolitical risks and instability, including the impact of tariffs and other trade measures and potential disruptions related to ongoing conflicts in the
About Ceva, Inc.
Ceva powers the Smart Edge, bridging the digital and physical worlds to bring AI-driven products to life. Our Ceva AI fabric portfolio of silicon and software IP enables devices to Connect, Sense, and Infer – the essential capabilities for the intelligent edge. From 5G, cellular IoT, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and UWB connectivity to scalable Edge AI NPUs, AI DSPs, sensor fusion processors and embedded software, Ceva provides the foundational IP for devices that connect, understand their environment, and act in real time.
With more than 20 billion devices shipped and trusted by 400+ customers worldwide, Ceva is the backbone of today's most advanced smart edge products - from AI-infused wearables and IoT devices to autonomous vehicles and 5G infrastructure. Our differentiated solutions deliver seamless integration into existing design flows, total flexibility to combine solutions based on design needs and ultra–low–power performance in minimal silicon footprint, helping customers accelerate development, reduce risk, and bring innovative products to market faster. As technology evolves toward Physical AI, Ceva's IP portfolio lays the foundation for systems that are always connected, contextually aware, and capable of intelligent, real-time decision-making.
Visit us at www.ceva-ip.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
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SOURCE Ceva, Inc.
FAQ
How much of Ceva's licensing revenue came from AI in 2025 (CEVA)?
How many NeuPro NPU agreements did Ceva sign in 2025 (CEVA)?
Which major partners did Ceva announce NPU or portfolio licenses with in 2025 (CEVA)?
When does Ceva expect customer silicon shipments from 2025 NPU wins (CEVA)?
How do Ceva's AI DSPs complement NPUs in 2025 deals (CEVA)?
What markets are driving Ceva's Physical AI adoption following 2025 wins (CEVA)?
