CEVA, Inc. (CEVA): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're digging into the mechanics of how CEVA, Inc. actually makes money, and honestly, it's a classic, high-leverage IP licensing play focused squarely on the 'Smart Edge'-that space where devices connect, sense, and infer data. Forget manufacturing; their game is selling blueprints. Looking at their Q3 2025 numbers, total revenue hit $28.4 million, split between $16.0 million in upfront licensing fees and $12.4 million in royalties from their massive installed base of over 20 billion devices. Still, you'll notice that heavy R&D spend-nearly $19.5 million-pushed them to a small GAAP operating loss of $2.1 million that quarter. To see exactly how they balance that high-cost R&D against their long-term royalty potential, check out the full breakdown of their nine building blocks below.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

Strategic licensing with Microchip for NeuPro NPU portfolio

CEVA, Inc. secured a long-term strategic collaboration with Microchip Technology Inc. in November 2025, involving a portfolio license for the full NeuPro Neural Processing Unit (NPU) family, spanning from small embedded applications up to generative AI workloads. Following this announcement, CEVA, Inc.'s stock gained approximately 2.8%, moving its market capitalization to about $650 million. This AI processor licensing is a significant revenue driver, as it contributed roughly one-third of CEVA, Inc.'s total licensing revenue in both the second and third quarters of 2025. For the third quarter of 2025, licensing and related revenue reached $16.0 million.

Long-term agreements with four largest cellular customers

CEVA, Inc. finalized two major long-term licensing agreements in the fourth quarter of 2024, one being with a U.S.-based OEM for its 5G modem technology, which is anticipated to boost future royalty revenue. A key milestone reported in the first quarter of 2025 was the successful ramp of this leading U.S. OEM's in-house 5G modem, which integrates CEVA, Inc.'s Intellectual Property (IP). CEVA, Inc. has historically generated a significant portion of its revenue from a limited number of customers in the connect segment, which includes baseband for handset and other devices.

Collaboration with United Micro Technology on 5G RedCap automotive IoT

CEVA, Inc. and United Micro Technology (UMT) launched the HyperMotion 5G RedCap Automotive IoT Platform in November 2025, combining UMT's 5G RedCap System-on-Chip (SoC) with CEVA, Inc.'s PentaG Lite 5G modem IP and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) technology. This platform targets automotive telematics control units (T-Box) and Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) applications. Industry analysts project that RedCap-based connectivity will surpass 700 million global connections by 2030, with automotive being a fast-growing segment. As of September 2025, 34 operators across 24 countries were actively evaluating or trialing RedCap technology.

Ecosystem partners like Cyberon and AIZIP for optimized AI models

CEVA, Inc. expanded its embedded AI NPU ecosystem by collaborating with Cyberon Corporation and AIZIP to offer pre-optimized neural networks for the Ceva-NeuPro-Nano NPUs.

• Cyberon Corporation's DSpotter keyword spotting technology is optimized for the Ceva-NeuPro-Nano, delivering accuracy in noisy environments with ultra-low power consumption.
• AIZIP's Face Detection model is integrated on the Ceva-NeuPro-Nano NPU.
• The NeuPro-Nano NPU supports configurations of 32 and 64 MAC cores, providing a scalable performance range from 10 GOPS to 200 GOPS per core.

Integration deals with major OEMs like MediaTek and Bestechnic

CEVA, Inc. continues to secure design wins across its connectivity portfolio with major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

The partnership with Bestechnic extends the integration of CEVA, Inc.'s wireless IP into low-power silicon products targeting smart wearables and smart home devices. The MediaTek integration brings low-power, high-quality spatial audio to Android and Windows platforms using Bluetooth LE Audio.

CEVA, Inc. reported 579 million Ceva-powered device shipments in the third quarter of 2025, which included record cellular IoT and Wi-Fi 6 shipments.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core engine that drives CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) revenue, which is all about getting their IP (Intellectual Property) blueprints into silicon designs globally. Here are the hard numbers reflecting those key activities as of late 2025.

Research and development (R&D) of next-gen IP

Investment in future IP is reflected in operational expenses, specifically the equity component tied to R&D personnel. For the third quarter of 2025, the equity-based compensation expense included in research and development expenses was $2,639 thousand. This compares to $2,673 thousand in the second quarter of 2025 and $2,466 thousand in the first quarter of 2025.

Licensing and selling silicon/software IP blueprints

The licensing activity drives upfront revenue, which is lumpy but crucial for near-term cash flow. The AI business is a growing component of this activity. AI processor licensing contributed approximately one-third of total licensing revenue in both the second and third quarters of 2025. The company completed 12 IP licensing agreements in the third quarter of 2025, following 13 agreements in the second quarter of 2025 and 11 in the first quarter of 2025.

Here is the breakdown of the core revenue streams for the first three quarters of 2025:

Developing and maintaining the NeuPro NPU and DSP platforms

Maintaining the competitive edge of the NeuPro NPU platform is evident through new product wins and platform capabilities. In the third quarter of 2025, a strategic NeuPro NPU portfolio license was signed with Microchip. Also in Q3 2025, 3 new AI DSP agreements were secured. The NeuPro-Nano NPU received a 2025 IoT Edge Computing Excellence Award from IoT Evolution World on November 17, 2025. The Ceva-NeuPro-Nano NPUs (NPN32 and NPN64) offer a Coremark/MHz score of 6.0. Separately, the 4th-gen Ceva NeuPro-M scales up to 64K MACs.

Providing deep engineering support for customer integration

This activity is evidenced by the specific design wins that require deep integration support. In the second quarter of 2025, 2 strategic automotive IP agreements were secured with U.S. companies for V2X and 4D radar. The first quarter of 2025 included a Wi-Fi 7 deal with a long-term strategic connectivity customer and an edge AI NPU for automotive ADAS.

Managing and auditing global royalty collection

The success of royalty collection is directly tied to the volume of Ceva-powered devices shipped. Ceva-powered device shipments reached 579 million units in the third quarter of 2025, up from 488 million units in the second quarter of 2025 and 420 million units in the first quarter of 2025. The company surpassed the cumulative milestone of over 20 billion Ceva-powered devices shipped. In the second quarter of 2025, the top five royalty-paying customers accounted for 58% of royalty revenues.

The company repurchased 300,000 shares at an average price of $20.54/share in the second quarter of 2025.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets that let CEVA, Inc. operate and compete in the Smart Edge IP licensing space as of late 2025. These aren't just ideas; they are patented technologies that customers pay to embed in their silicon.

Extensive Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio (DSP, NPU, Connectivity)

CEVA, Inc.'s IP forms the foundation of its revenue, split between upfront licensing fees and ongoing royalties from shipped products. The wireless connectivity IP remains a core strength, alongside the growing AI portfolio.

The wireless connectivity segment holds a 68% market share, according to IPnest 2025 data.

In the third quarter of 2025, CEVA, Inc. completed 12 IP licensing agreements. Licensing and related revenue for Q3 2025 was $16.0 million.

NeuPro NPU family for scalable Edge AI acceleration

The NeuPro NPU family is central to the company's AI strategy. AI processor licensing contributed approximately one-third of total licensing revenue in both the second and third quarters of 2025. A major event was the long-term partnership with Microchip Technology, which included licensing a broad NeuPro portfolio.

The NeuPro-Nano variant specifically targets AIoT workloads:

• Supports configurations of 32 and 64 MAC cores.
• Delivers scalable performance from 10 GOPS to 200 GOPS per core.
• Achieves model weight compression up to 80% via hardware-based sparsity acceleration.
• The platform supports native transformer computations.

Specialized engineering talent in wireless and AI

CEVA, Inc. relies on its deep expertise to create and maintain its complex IP. The company states its employees are among the leading experts solving complex design challenges for the smart edge.

The IP development addresses needs across four large, diversified markets: consumer IoT, automotive, industrial and infrastructure, and mobile/PC.

Installed base of over 20 billion CEVA-powered devices

The installed base is a key resource because it drives the recurring royalty revenue stream. CEVA, Inc. officially surpassed the 20 billion Ceva-powered device milestone as of the second quarter of 2025.

Recent quarterly shipment volumes demonstrate the ongoing deployment:

• Q1 2025 powered 420 million devices, up 13% year-over-year.
• Q2 2025 device shipments totaled 488 million units.
• Q3 2025 device shipments reached 579 million units.

Royalty revenue for the third quarter of 2025 was $12.4 million.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

CEVA, Inc. delivers differentiated solutions that combine outstanding performance at ultra-low power within a very small silicon footprint.

The value proposition centers on enabling customers to accelerate innovation by offering a unified IP portfolio that integrates wireless, sensing, and AI capabilities. This approach helps customers reduce complexity and time-to-market.

The high-margin nature of the IP business reflects the inherent value delivered, with GAAP Gross Margin reaching 88% in the third quarter of 2025, up from 85% in the third quarter of 2024.

The platform is designed to support the three core use cases of the Smart Edge:

• Connect: Ubiquitous, robust communications.
• Sense: Sensor fusion and spatial awareness.
• Infer: On-device, real-time decision-making via AI.

The scale of adoption is evident in the total units shipped by CEVA, Inc. licensees, which reached 579 million units in the third quarter of 2025.

The market-leading wireless IP portfolio underpins this connectivity value proposition:

• CEVA, Inc. was named the number one vendor in Wireless Connectivity IP by IPnest in its latest 2025 Design IP Report.
• The company's wireless connectivity IP market share grew to 68% in 2024, more than 10 times larger than its closest peer.
• The portfolio includes support for the latest standards, with licensing wins secured for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth high throughput IP.
• The Ceva-Waves Bluetooth IP solutions power more than 1 billion devices worldwide annually.
• The company is the first IP vendor to achieve Bluetooth 6.0 qualification with Channel Sounding support, adopted by more than 10 customers.

The strategic pivot to Edge AI is a significant driver, with the AI processor licensing segment reaching a major milestone:

AI processor licensing contributed approximately one-third of the total licensing revenue in both the second and third quarters of 2025.

For context on the revenue mix and shipment volume in the latest reported quarter (Q3 2025):

Finance: model the Q4 2025 licensing revenue based on the AI contribution being sustained by the end of the year.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how CEVA, Inc. locks in its customers, which is almost entirely through intellectual property (IP) licensing and the subsequent royalties. This relationship structure is designed for long-term, high-margin revenue capture, but it means customer success directly dictates a large portion of CEVA, Inc.'s income.

Long-term, multi-year licensing agreements

The foundation of the relationship is securing the upfront licensing fees, which are often tied to multi-year commitments. These agreements are critical for future royalty visibility. For instance, the AI wins secured in the second and third quarters of 2025 are explicitly described as multi-year agreements that provide good visibility into future revenue streams.

The licensing execution in Q3 2025 was strong, with twelve IP licensing agreements concluded in that quarter alone. This contrasts with the eleven agreements concluded in Q1 2025. These deals span multiple technology areas, including a portfolio license for the full NeuPro NPU family signed with Microchip in Q3 2025.

The structure of these upfront payments is clear:

Dedicated technical support and consulting services

While CEVA, Inc. divested a lower-margin design services business two years ago, the current customer relationship still involves significant technical engagement to ensure IP integration success. This support is bundled within the licensing and related revenue stream, which totaled $16.0 million in Q3 2025. The company's focus is on providing complete silicon IP solutions, which inherently requires deep technical partnership to get customer products to market faster, such as the recent addition of an RF team to support customers with Bluetooth 7 standard implementation.

The customer relationship is characterized by:

• Securing design wins for advanced standards like Wi-Fi 7.
• Providing AI DSP support for automotive ADAS.
• Enabling spatial audio software integration for PC OEMs.

Success-based royalty model tied to customer unit shipments

The success-based component is the royalty stream, which is directly tied to the volume of Ceva-powered chips shipped by customers. This is the annuity component of the business model. In Q3 2025, royalty revenue reached $12.4 million. This represented 43.7% of the total revenue for that quarter, based on the $16.0 million licensing revenue.

The growth in this area shows strong end-product adoption:

• Royalty revenue grew 6% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• Royalty revenue grew 16% sequentially in Q3 2025.
• Total Ceva-powered device shipments hit a record 579 million units in Q3 2025.

The royalty performance is heavily influenced by specific market segments, with wireless IoT shipments reaching record highs, led by new highs in Wi-Fi 6 and cellular IoT in Q3 2025. However, royalty revenue can be lumpy; for example, it was $9.2 million in Q1 2025, a 14% year-over-year decrease, due to soft smartphone shipments.

Strategic engagement with leading U.S. OEM for 5G modem

This represents a high-value, strategic relationship where CEVA, Inc.'s IP is deeply embedded in a customer's core product roadmap. A key milestone was the successful ramp of an in-house 5G modem by a leading U.S. OEM integrating CEVA IP, which was noted in Q1 2025 results. This relationship stems from long-term licensing agreements signed with four of the company's largest cellular customers.

The strategic focus areas for these high-value engagements in 2025 included:

• Securing two strategic automotive IP agreements with U.S. companies in Q2 2025 for V2X and 4D radar.
• The company supports two of the four large OEMs in wireless infrastructure, holding over 30% market share in that area.
• The company is aiming to increase its mobile market share from 15% to over 20% by next year (2026).

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how CEVA, Inc. gets its IP and software tools into the hands of the designers building the next wave of Smart Edge devices. The channel strategy here is all about direct engagement and a strong partner network to push licensing and drive royalties.

Direct sales force for IP licensing

The direct sales force is the engine closing the deals that generate the upfront licensing revenue. This channel is directly responsible for securing the agreements that underpin the company's financial stability between royalty cycles. For instance, in the third quarter of 2025, CEVA, Inc. completed twelve IP licensing agreements across AI, DSP, and connectivity sectors. This execution is key, as Licensing and related revenue hit $16.0 million in Q3 2025. The AI pivot is clearly being driven through these direct sales efforts, with AI processor licensing contributing approximately one-third of total licensing revenue in both the second and third quarters of 2025.

Here's a look at the recent licensing revenue performance:

The direct channel's success is also reflected in the capital return program; the company repurchased 340,000 shares for approximately $7.2 million year-to-date in 2025.

Global field application engineering (FAE) teams

The FAE teams act as the technical bridge, helping customers integrate the licensed IP-like the NeuPro NPU or Ceva-Waves Wi-Fi-into their silicon designs. While the exact headcount isn't public, the global footprint suggests a significant support structure is in place to service these complex technical sales. The company maintains a global presence with offices listed across multiple continents, including headquarters in Rockville, USA, and locations in Israel, France, Japan, South Korea, and various sites across China. This physical presence supports the technical validation and troubleshooting required for deep IP integration.

• Support for Ceva-NeuPro-Nano NPU integration.
• Technical bridge for automotive IP wins (V2X, 4D radar).
• On-site support for product demonstration activities.
• Troubleshooting of product HW & SW issues remotely and at customer sites.

Technology ecosystem for software and tools

The technology ecosystem channel is critical for accelerating customer time-to-market by providing pre-optimized software, tools, and third-party solutions that work seamlessly with CEVA, Inc.'s IP. This reduces the perceived risk of adopting new IP blocks. At CES 2025, the expansion of the embedded AI NPU ecosystem was a major theme, adding new collaborations to streamline development.

Key ecosystem activities as of early 2025 include:

• New collaborations with Cyberon and AIZIP offering pre-optimized neural networks for keyword spotting and face recognition on NeuPro-Nano.
• Expanded integration with Edge Impulse Studio supporting NVIDIA's TAO toolkit for NPN32 and NPN64 NPUs.
• Partnerships with Oritek Semiconductor for ADAS chipsets and Bestechnic for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth Dual Mode IP integration.
• The overall partner program incorporates more than 100 partners providing complementary software, tools, and design services.

Investor Relations for financial transparency

Investor Relations is the channel for communicating financial performance and strategic direction to the capital markets, directly influencing valuation and investor confidence. The company provides detailed quarterly updates, such as the Q3 2025 results, which are filed as an exhibit to the current report on Form 8K and accessible on the Investor Relations website at investors.ceva-ip.com. Transparency around both GAAP and non-GAAP metrics is a key part of this channel.

Key financial transparency metrics from Q3 2025:

The company actively participates in investor events, such as the UBS Global Technology and AI Conference on December 2nd, to maintain direct communication with analysts and portfolio managers. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core markets that drive CEVA, Inc.'s revenue through IP licensing and royalties as of the third quarter of 2025. The customer base is diverse, spanning from chip designers to large system manufacturers, all relying on CEVA's technology to enable intelligence and connectivity at the edge.

The total volume of Ceva-powered devices shipped by licensees in the third quarter of 2025 hit 579 million units, which was up 19% sequentially and 11% year-over-year. This volume underpins the royalty stream across all segments.

Here's a breakdown of the key customer segments and their recent performance metrics:

The AI business is becoming a defintely meaningful part of the overall licensing mix. AI processor licensing represented roughly one-third of the total licensing revenue in both the second and third quarters of 2025.

You'll see the strength in connectivity IP reflected in the shipment numbers:

• Cellular IoT shipments reached an all-time high of 69 million units in Q3 2025, marking a 41% increase year-over-year.
• Wi-Fi 6 shipments set a new record, up 194% year-over-year.
• Bluetooth shipments were 303 million units in the quarter, a slight dip of 1% from 306 million in Q3 2024.

The semiconductor segment is seeing direct engagement with major players; for instance, Microchip Technology licensed the full NeuPro NPU portfolio for their future roadmaps. Also, CEVA, Inc. secured two strategic automotive IP agreements in Q2 2025 specifically for V2X and 4D radar applications.

The infrastructure segment, covering 5G SWAN, showed explosive growth in royalties, which were up 91% year-over-year in Q3 2025. That's a clear indicator of design wins moving into volume production.

For mobile, the recovery in the low-end smartphone segment, coupled with a second model launch from a U.S. OEM featuring CEVA's 5G modem, helped push mobile royalties up 4% year-over-year.

Finance: review the Q4 2025 licensing pipeline against the Q3 AI licensing contribution of one-third of licensing revenue by end of week.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core expenses that drive CEVA, Inc.'s operations as of late 2025. Honestly, for an IP licensing company, the cost structure is heavily weighted toward talent and future innovation, which means high fixed costs related to research.

High R&D expenses are a major component, reflecting the continuous need to develop and update silicon and software intellectual property (IP). For the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, Research and Development, net, totaled $19,532 thousand. This figure is substantial, underscoring the commitment to staying ahead in areas like AI processors and wireless connectivity IP. This high spend is the engine for future revenue streams.

The cost of that specialized talent is embedded within the operating expenses. Personnel costs for specialized engineers are the primary driver behind the R&D line item. Furthermore, these specialized teams are also involved in supporting complex customer integrations, which ties into the Sales and Marketing and General and Administrative buckets, though the bulk of their compensation sits in R&D.

Your Sales, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses cover the necessary overhead to run the business, from marketing the IP portfolio to managing contracts and corporate functions. For Q3 2025, these costs are detailed below, combining Sales and Marketing with General and Administrative spending.

Here's the quick math on the SG&A components for the third quarter of 2025 (in thousands of USD):

Another line item that eats into the GAAP results is the Amortization of acquired intangible assets. This non-cash charge relates to past acquisitions, spreading their cost over their useful lives. In Q3 2025, this expense was relatively small at $149 thousand.

When you look at the bottom line before taxes and other adjustments, the operating performance shows the pressure from these fixed costs. CEVA, Inc. reported a GAAP Operating Loss of $2,084 thousand (or approximately $2.1 million) for Q3 2025. This compares to a loss of $2,624 thousand in the same period last year, so there was some improvement, but it still reflects that the current operating expenses outpace the GAAP operating revenue for the period.

To give you a clearer picture of the total operating expense structure for the quarter, consider these key figures (all in thousands of USD):

• Research and Development, net: $19,532
• Total SG&A (Sales & Marketing + G&A): $7,395
• Amortization of intangible assets: $149
• Total Operating Expenses (GAAP): $27,076

The total operating expenses for Q3 2025 were $27,076 thousand. Still, the non-GAAP operating expenses, which strip out items like equity-based compensation and amortization, were lower at $22,000 thousand (using the $22.1 million mentioned in one source, which is close to the sum of the reported GAAP expenses minus the non-GAAP exclusions). This difference highlights how much non-cash or non-recurring items affect the GAAP view of the cost base. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

CEVA, Inc. (CEVA) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core engine of CEVA, Inc.'s financial structure, which is heavily weighted toward intellectual property (IP) monetization through upfront fees and ongoing usage payments. For the third quarter of 2025, CEVA, Inc. reported total revenue of $28.4 million.

This revenue is cleanly split between two primary sources, which you can see broken down here:

The Licensing and related revenue, which hit $16.0 million in Q3 2025, is where the upfront value of CEVA, Inc.'s IP is captured. This segment is showing strong momentum, particularly from the AI side of the business. Honestly, this is a key indicator of future health; AI processor licensing contributed approximately one-third of the total licensing revenue in both the second and third quarters of 2025. That's a major milestone for CEVA, Inc.'s AI strategy. These wins are structured as multi-year agreements, which definitely provides good visibility into future revenue streams, even if the immediate cash is in the upfront fee.

The Royalty revenue, which totaled $12.4 million for the quarter, is the direct measure of how many of their licensed technologies are actually shipping in customer products. This stream grew 6% year-over-year. The volume driving this is substantial:

• Ceva-powered device shipments reached 579 million units in Q3 2025.
• Royalty revenue was supported by record wireless IoT shipments, including new highs in Wi-Fi 6 and cellular IoT.
• The Wireless IP portfolio, which includes Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, UWB, and cellular IoT, achieved its strongest royalty revenue quarter on record.
• Licensing revenue for the first three quarters of 2025 reached $46.1 million, up 4% compared to the same period in 2024.

To be fair, the non-GAAP gross margin for the quarter was very strong at 89%, which makes sense given the high-margin nature of IP licensing.