Renesas Electronics &  Alibaba close cooperation to empower China’s IoT market

Deeper Cooperation Includes Embedded AliOS Things, Online Sales Channels and Alibaba IoT Ecosystem

Renesas Electronics Corporation today a strategic alliance with Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Inc. that will empower Internet of Things (IoT) developers to accelerate the growth of China’s IoT market. The close technology collaboration includes embedding AliOS Things IoT operating system (OS) in the Renesas RX65N/RX651 microcontroller (MCU) lineup, expanding online sales channels, and Renesas joining Alibaba’s IoT ecosystem.

Alibaba invited Tomomitsu Maoka, Senior Vice President, General Manager, China Business Unit of Renesas to deliver a keynote speech at The Computing Conference 2018, held September 19-22 in Yunqi Town, Hangzhou. The speech outlined Renesas’ commitment to China’s ongoing IoT development and close cooperation with Alibaba.

Embedded AliOS Things in RX65N/RX651 MCU Lineup

Following the recent launch of the 16-bit RL78 MCU Family supporting AliOS Things’ basic version, Renesas is now launching its high-performance 32-bit RX65N/RX651 MCU Group to support the AliOS Things’ advanced version. By embedding AliOS Things into RX65N/RX651 MCUs, developers can easily connect IoT node devices and gateways to the Alibaba Cloud. The RX65N/RX651 MCUs feature integrated Trusted Secure IP (TSIP), which can implement Root of Trust for IoT devices using encryption key data protected by TSIP and a flash memory-protected authentication program. The RX65N/RX651 security features enable customers to protect their IoT devices and firmware updates against external cyber threats. Renesas will continue to meet customer needs with new products and development kits that support AliOS Things.

Renesas’ Flagship Store Officially Opens on Tmall

Renesas opened its flagship online store on Tmall.com, China’s leading B2C retail shopping website. In addition to featuring general-purpose semiconductor products, the Renesas Tmall store includes an AliOS Things section that provides IoT users with Renesas MCUs and board kit solutions that support AliOS Things. With Tmall’s powerful promotion channels, Renesas looks forward to providing products and services to a wider range of users.

Joint Development of an IoT Ecosystem

To create a superior IoT ecosystem, Renesas is joining Alibaba Cloud University and the IoT Connectivity Alliance (ICA) to help Alibaba build out a complete ecosystem. Renesas plans to offer online and offline Alibaba Cloud University training courses related to developing IoT devices. Renesas also plans to support ICA members build new alliance standards, as well as national and international IoT standards that spur IoT market growth.

“The Renesas/Alibaba collaboration will speed time to market for IoT developers by providing complete solutions from chips to cloud connectivity,” said Tomomitsu Maoka, Senior Vice President, General Manager, China Business Unit of Renesas. “Combining our rich MCU lineup and comprehensive semiconductor solutions with Alibaba’s powerful IoT ecosystem will help customers achieve China’s growth plans for smart cities, smart homes, and smart factories.”

Teaming our AliOS Things IoT operating system and Alibaba Cloud services with Renesas MCUs will further expand Alibaba Cloud’s IoT hardware ecosystem, allowing more developers to use Renesas products,” said Wei Ku, Vice President of Alibaba Group, General Manager of IoT Business Unit of Alibaba Cloud. “Opening a flagship online store for selling IoT related products on Tmall is a first for Renesas and Alibaba Cloud, and I believe it will have a positive impact on the semiconductor market and IoT developers.”