Latecomer TI Could Successfully Penetrate Secure MCU Market with New Industrial and Automotive Offerings Announced at Electronica 2024

By Michela Menting | 4Q 2024 | IN-7610

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Texas Instruments (TI) announced four new secure real-time Microcontroller Units (MCUs) at electronica 2024. They are, in fact, two different product offerings, with a version of each for automotive and for industrial applications, so they are compliant with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508 and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26262 for automotive (with systematic capability up to Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 and Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) D targeted, respectively). Both are part of the C2000 family of real-time, ultra-low latency MCUs targeted at power electronics, such as for digital power management and motor control.

The first offerings consist of the TMS320F28P550SJ (industrial) and TMS320F28P559SJ-Q1 (automotive) 32-bit MCUs, featuring a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for ARC or motor fault detection. Security features include secure boot, JTAG lock, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) accelerator, and a Unique Identification Number (UID). A Dual Zone Security feature can support code partitioning, with each distinct zone having dedicated One-Time Programmable (OTP) memory and secure Read-Only Memory (ROM).

The second offerings include the F29H850TU (industrial) and F29H859TU-Q1 (automotive) MCUs, featuring much more developed security functionalities (powered by three 64-bit Central Processing Units (CPUs)). All memory is Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)-protected, and the products include an embedded Hardware Security Module (HSM) and a Safety and Security Unit (SSU). The module includes an independent Arm Cortex-M4 security controller, secure key storage, boot and debug, Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) for the HSM, as well as secure key provisioning. Cryptographic accelerators are available for a range of algorithms (asymmetric, symmetric, hash, and True Random Number Generator (TRNG)) that can allow for secure authentication, firmware upgrades, and communications.

TI is a leading global semiconductor provider, but it has somehow eschewed the MCU market, despite being a powerhouse in micro and embedded processors. There has been growing demand and competition in the industrial and automotive MCU and Microprocessor Unit (MPU) market, currently dominated by NXP, Infineon, Renesas, STMicroelectronics, and Microchip. ABI Research expects shipments of secure MCUs to hit 1.3 billion globally in 2024, and to almost triple by 2028. TI is clearly keen to take advantage of this lucrative growth opportunity; and cognizant of its lateness to the market, has hit hard with four secure MCU product offerings. Only the TMS320F28P550SJ is currently in production, with TI aiming to have the others available by the end of 2024/early 2025 (although prototypes are available).

Interestingly, TI is leveraging its own cores (C29x and C28x), which are equivalent to Arm Cortex M-7. The tri-core F29H850TU also includes an Arm Cortex M4 core to power the HSM's security controller subsystem. The security features of the F29H850TU are impressive; the HSM and the SSU together provide formidable security and safety protections.

TI's new offerings will allow the semiconductor provider to penetrate the secure MCU market with force; the F29H850TU, in particular, brings it to the top of the line in comparison to other market offerings. Only Infineon has a tri-core offering targeted at automotive and industrial, the AURIX TriCore 32-bit MCU family, but TI has a leg up on that by going with 64-bit. Most other offerings on the market are single-core with dual-core options for the higher-end variants. With both a very high-end, and a low-end offering in the security MCU space, TI is looking to capture both ends of the target spectrum.

There are, however, several obstacles facing the company. It needs to build trust in the MCU's capabilities before it can gain market traction, but this may not be a huge challenge, as it can leverage its existing customer base. More difficult may be to convince a market that is used to using Arm cores for industrial and automotive applications. In high-end security requirements especially, TrustZone is, by far, the dominant technology for those needing secure execution environments, and it has been a popular offering, especially for securing Machine Learning (ML). Arm has worked hard to make TrustZone more developer friendly, especially in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, with attractive licensing options and varying choice of feature sets, alongside a push to ensure compatibility and integration for a range of MCUs and MPUs from the different semiconductor providers. There is a well-established market that TI is going up against in the security MCU space for industrial and automotive, but there is no doubt that it has put the muscle in its new offerings and has prepared a powerful market entry. Now it needs to show it can deliver and keep momentum going in a highly competitive market by ensuring that conversions to its MCUs are frictionless for prospective developers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).