Silicon Labs Redefines Smart Home Connectivity with New Concurrent Multiprotocol SoC
Rhea-AI Summary
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) has announced the general availability of its MG26 family of wireless SoCs, marking a significant advancement in Matter and multiprotocol solutions. The new SoCs feature double the Flash and RAM compared to other Silicon Labs multiprotocol devices, along with advanced AI/ML processing capabilities.
Key features include:
- Concurrent multiprotocol support for Matter and Zigbee networks
- ARM Cortex-M33 CPU with dedicated cores for radio and security
- Enhanced security through Silicon Labs Secure Vault and ARM TrustZone
- Up to 8x faster AI/ML processing with 1/6th power consumption
- Transmission power up to +19.5 dBm with ultra-low power consumption
Austrian smart lock manufacturer Nuki has selected Silicon Labs' Matter-ready SoCs for their U.S. market entry in 2025. The MG26 has already received multiple industry awards, including the Embedded Computing Design's Best in Show Award and IoT Evolution World's 2024 Product of the Year.
Positive
- Double Flash and RAM capacity enables advanced edge applications
- 8x faster AI/ML processing with 1/6th power consumption
- Industry-leading RF performance with +19.5 dBm transmission power
- Secured new customer Nuki for US market expansion
- Multiple industry awards recognition
Negative
- None.
Insights
Silicon Labs' general availability announcement of its MG26 SoC family represents a strategic advancement in the company's IoT connectivity portfolio and strengthens its competitive position in the rapidly expanding Matter ecosystem. This launch directly addresses the growing demand for interoperable, secure smart home devices with enhanced processing capabilities.
The MG26's concurrent multiprotocol support—enabling simultaneous Zigbee and Matter over Thread connectivity—solves a critical market challenge: allowing device manufacturers to create products that work across multiple ecosystems without requiring separate hardware SKUs. This feature provides Silicon Labs with a significant competitive advantage over single-protocol solutions from rivals like Texas Instruments and NXP in the fragmented smart home market.
From a technical perspective, the doubled memory capacity and dedicated AI/ML acceleration hardware position SLAB to capture higher-value segments of the IoT market. The embedded AI/ML accelerator delivers 8x faster processing using 1/6th the power compared to CPU-only solutions—enabling advanced edge computing applications that weren't previously feasible in battery-powered devices.
The company's Custom Part Manufacturing Service offering pre-programmed Matter device attestation certificates addresses a critical pain point in the IoT security landscape, potentially accelerating customer time-to-market while creating a sticky platform relationship that could increase switching costs.
Nuki's adoption of the technology for their US market entry validates the platform's value proposition, particularly for battery-sensitive applications requiring robust security and multi-protocol support. As the Matter ecosystem expands beyond its initial device categories, Silicon Labs' position as the leading semiconductor code contributor to the standard should translate to earlier access to emerging opportunities.
This product launch aligns with Silicon Labs' strategic focus on wireless connectivity following its divestiture of non-core businesses, potentially strengthening margins as the company targets higher-value IoT applications requiring advanced security and AI/ML capabilities at the edge.
MG26 SoCs are now generally available, providing developers with the highest performance and AI/ML capabilities
"With MG26, we're not just setting a new standard in multiprotocol wireless performance for battery-based, low-power smart home applications—we're redefining what's possible for the future of IoT connectivity with Matter," said Jacob Alamat, Senior Vice President for the Home and Life business unit at Silicon Labs. "This device empowers developers to create smarter, safer, and more powerful solutions in an increasingly connected world."
Further enhancing security through its Custom Part Manufacturing Service (CPMS), Silicon Labs is the only Matter SoC device maker that allows customers to customize their order with their own Matter device attestation certificates (DAC), simplifying and accelerating product launches using Silicon Labs Matter-enabled SoCs while preventing IP theft and counterfeiting.
MG26 SoC Powers Advanced IoT Applications and Matter
The MG26 SoC significantly advances Matter adoption with its concurrent multiprotocol capabilities, enabling integration of various Smart Home and Building devices like LED lighting, switches, sensors, and locks into both Matter and Zigbee networks simultaneously. This allows users to create automations and routines that incorporate more devices across different ecosystem.
In addition, the MG26's AI/ML capabilities using its embedded accelerator also enhance its performance in critical tasks like predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, keyword detection, vision, and more and more applications that span across the IoT. To help developers build devices capable of running advanced IoT applications, the MG26 family offers:
- Higher compute in a multicore format with an ARM® Cortex®-M33 CPU and dedicated cores for the radio and security subsystems, freeing up the main core for customer applications.
- Doubled Flash, RAM, and GPIO capacity compared to the MG24 device family, allowing IoT device builders to develop advanced edge applications that leverage larger, more accurate machine learning models for improved performance. It also allows for the processing of larger machine learning workloads like higher resolution vision.
- Embedded AI/ML hardware acceleration, enabling up to 8x faster processing of machine learning algorithms using as little as 1/6th the power compared to running on the CPU. Silicon Labs' new AI/ML Developer Journey provides an easy on-ramp for developers to start building new models to take advantage of this processing power.
- Best-in-class security with Silicon Labs Secure Vault™ and ARM TrustZone, compliant with all Matter security requirements.
- Using Silicon Labs Custom Part Manufacturing Service, MG26 devices can also be programmed with customer Matter device attestation certificate (DAC), security keys and other features in the fabrication process on demand, further hardening them against vulnerabilities.
- Secure OTA firmware updates in conjunction with Secure Boot prevent the installation of malicious software and allow for vulnerability patching.
- Concurrent Multiprotocol, enabling the ability to run both Zigbee and Matter over Thread at the same time, simplifying SKU management for the product manufacturer and ease of use for the end user.
- Industry-leading RF performance to energy-efficiency ratio, with transmission power of up to +19.5 dBm and world-leading receiver sensitivity with ultra-low TX, RX, and sleep currents enable long-life battery-powered IoT devices with superior wireless performance.
Setting the Industry Standard for Developing with Matter
Consumers want Matter devices that are secure, interoperable, and easy to use. Austrian smart lock manufacturer Nuki, which will enter the U.S. market in 2025, chose Silicon Labs as Matter partner for their newest Smart Lock to achieve reliable, efficient connectivity. This is Nuki's first electronic lock that's not only compatible with European doors, but also with US deadbolts. Silicon Labs Matter-ready SoCs enable Nuki's smart locks to operate for extended periods without frequent battery replacements, support various wireless protocols using Matter, and ensure seamless connectivity to home networks.
"Silicon Labs' Matter-ready SoCs enable us to bring super compact, battery-driven devices with parallel support for several communication protocols to the market," said Jürgen Pansy, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Nuki. "Our latest innovation, the award-winning Smart Lock, supports Matter via Thread using Silicon Labs hardware that saves energy and space in the lock's design to allow for additional connectivity integrations like Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi."
Silicon Labs Leads the Way in Matter Expansion
Since its early announcement in 2024, MG26 has been recognized globally for its impressive capabilities, winning industry awards such as the Embedded Computing Design's Best in Show Award, IoT Evolution World's 2024 Product of the Year, and AspenCore World Electronics Achievement Award.
The Matter ecosystem is anticipated to experience significant growth, driven by new device types, enhanced security, and industry collaboration. As the leading semiconductor code contributor to Matter, Silicon Labs is proud to be part of this expansion.
Learn more about how to develop cutting-edge Matter- and AI/ML-enable devices using Silicon Labs below:
- The Silicon Labs Matter Developer Journey
- The Silicon Labs AI/ML Developer Journey
- Register for the March 18 Tech Talk introducing the MG26
- Silicon Labs Wi-Fi SoCs with Matter support: SiWG917
To purchase or get more information on Silicon Labs' MG26 SoCs, click here.
About Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs is a trailblazer in wireless connectivity for the Internet of Things. Its integrated hardware and software platform, intuitive development tools, and unmatched ecosystem support make Silicon Labs the ideal long-term partner in building advanced industrial, commercial, and home and life applications. Silicon Labs leads the industry in high performance, low power, and security with support for the broadest set of multi-protocol solutions.
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SOURCE Silicon Labs
FAQ
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