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NI agreed to acquire OptimalPlus on June 2, 2020, and completed the deal on July 6. The $365 million acquisition added enterprise analytics for manufacturing data to NI’s test and measurement business, with the aim of connecting information from product development through production. “Doubling down on the IC market” was contemporaneous trade-press framing; the companies also cited automotive and electronics.
What NI bought—and when
NI announced a definitive agreement to acquire OptimalPlus on June 2, 2020, then announced the deal’s completion on July 6. OptimalPlus provided data analytics software for semiconductor, automotive and electronics industries. NI disclosed a transaction value of $365 million and said OptimalPlus had revenue of $51 million in 2019; both figures were reported by NI in 2020, not independently established market estimates. NI’s agreement announcement and closing announcement describe the deal.
Why the deal was described as a bet on the IC market
NI sold semiconductor test systems and automated test and measurement capabilities. OptimalPlus brought analytics for semiconductor manufacturing data, along with work in automotive and electronics. The combination was meant to extend NI’s role from collecting test data toward analyzing it across an enterprise and informing production decisions.
EE Times framed the acquisition as NI “doubling down” on the integrated-circuit market. The phrase captures the semiconductor emphasis in the announcement, but it should not be read as the deal being limited to ICs: NI and OptimalPlus also pointed to automotive and electronics. The same trade-press account attributed the phrase “take it all from lab to production” to NI CEO Eric Starkloff. EE Times’ account provides that contemporary framing.
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What OptimalPlus analytics was intended to do
The companies’ stated rationale was to connect test and manufacturing data so customers could draw product insights across design, characterization and manufacturing. NI said the combined capability could help improve quality and yield, avoid failures and increase efficiency; those were strategic aims, not independently measured results established by the deal announcements.
In its 2021 annual report, NI described “NI Optimal Plus” as production-data pipeline and analytics tools intended to generate insights and deploy manufacturing actions affecting product performance, quality, output and cost. NI’s 2021 annual report gives that portfolio description.
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Applications described by NI
NI’s current OptimalPlus applications page describes manufacturing uses including yield management and scrap avoidance, quality-escape prevention, monitoring, defect analysis and new-product introduction. These are vendor-described capabilities and benefits, not independent validation of specific customer outcomes. The page directs prospective buyers to contact sales; public pricing, licensing terms and support arrangements are not stated there. NI’s OptimalPlus applications page has the current overview.
What changed in NI’s lifecycle coverage
| Area | NI’s pre-deal emphasis | Intended addition through OptimalPlus |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | Test systems and automated test and measurement | Enterprise analytics for semiconductor manufacturing data, alongside automotive and electronics analytics |
| Data use | Capturing test and measurement data | Analyzing and connecting data to inform product and production decisions |
| Lifecycle scope | Test and measurement capabilities used in product development and manufacturing contexts | A stated goal of connecting data from product design and characterization through manufacturing |
This is a comparison of the strategic scope described by the companies, not proof of a measured before-and-after improvement for customers. In the closing announcement, Starkloff said OptimalPlus’s analytics would help NI build software to connect data sources across a product’s lifecycle; OptimalPlus CEO Dan Glotter said the combination would expand enterprise analytics and customer reach. Those statements describe the parties’ rationale and expectations. NI’s closing announcement includes both executives’ remarks.
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What became of NI after the acquisition
Emerson completed its acquisition of NI on October 11, 2023. Emerson said NI would become its Test & Measurement segment. Emerson’s 2025 annual filing continued to identify NI as a segment within Software and Control. Emerson’s completion announcement and Emerson’s annual reports document the subsequent ownership and reporting context.
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