Hardware Podcasts

#011: Memfault Joins Nordic Semiconductor: What This Means for the Future of Connected Product Development

Coredump Sessions · 1 Jul 2025 · 55m · Episode 12

What this episode covers

François Baldassari and Chris from Memfault, joined by Kjetil Holstad from Nordic Semiconductor, discuss Memfault's acquisition by Nordic and the strategic vision for a 'chip-to-cloud' platform. They trace Nordic’s history from design services to Bluetooth leadership, highlighting the pivotal role of the iPhone 4S in accelerating BLE adoption and the increasing complexity of embedded software. The conversation details the deep technical integration between Memfault and Nordic’s nRF Connect SDK and Zephyr, emphasizing how this partnership lowers barriers for developers building reliable IoT devices.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up and large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Memfault, Nordic Semiconductor, Pebble, Nokia, Chitcon, Atmel Corporation, Texas Instruments, Fitbit, ST, Infineon, NXP, Stone Street One, Qualcomm
Products
iPhone 4S, iOS 7, NRF Cloud, Lutopia
Chips
nRF52, nRF91
Tools
Zephyr, nRF Connect SDK

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 10m

    528: Goldfish Chunks

    Tyler Hoffman, co-founder of Memfault (now part of Nordic Semiconductor), discusses the architecture and philosophy of Memfault, a platform for embedded device diagnostics and observability. He explains the separation of operational data from product data, the 'device-in-control' approach to firmware updates, and the use of Memfault Diagnostic Service (MDS) for BLE devices. The conversation covers when to use Memfault versus building custom solutions, the challenges of low-bandwidth connectivity, and the realities of scaling fleet management.

    Connected products & IoTEmbedded firmware
    7 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 15m

    173: Everything's Amazing

    George Stocker, former VP of Software Development at Jewelbots, discusses his transition from a 10-year career in application development to embedded firmware engineering. He details the challenges of building the Jewelbot, a Bluetooth-enabled friendship bracelet for girls, including porting the Nordic nRF51 SDK, debugging hardware-software interactions, and managing the unique constraints of a hardware startup. Stocker highlights the humbling experience of learning embedded systems from scratch, the insular nature of the embedded community, and the specific technical hurdles of BLE mesh networking and power management.

    Embedded firmwareDebugging & failure analysis
    8 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 05m

    479: Make Your Voice Heard

    Carles Cufí, an open source software engineer at Nordic Semiconductor, discusses the company's strategic shift to Zephyr and the development of the nRF Connect SDK. He explains the architectural decisions behind maintaining a downstream SDK, including the use of binary blobs and proprietary licensing, to balance open-source collaboration with commercial control. Cufí also provides guidance for developers on navigating Zephyr's steep learning curve, highlighting resources like the Memfault 'Practical Zephyr' series, Nordic's DevAcademy, and the community Discord server.

    Embedded firmwareStarting a product company
    9 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 10m

    A Meeting Of The Davids

    Dave Jones and David Ledger of EEVblog discuss the development of the EEVblog multimeter app, detailing the technical challenges of implementing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) on Android and the decision to use the Mono framework for cross-platform compatibility. They also cover the resolution of the trademark dispute between Arduino founders Massimo Banzi and Federico Musto, news of Qualcomm's acquisition of NXP, and Samsung surpassing Intel in chip sales volume. The conversation concludes with a debate on the feasibility of autonomous vehicles and a tribute to analog guru Bob Pease.

    Embedded firmwareWireless & RF
    7 chapters

  • The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 53m

    François Baldassari from Memfault on IoT Observability

    François Baldassari, founder and CEO of Memfault, discusses the evolution of embedded software and the critical need for IoT observability tools. He recounts his experience at Pebble, where a lack of field data led to a severe firmware update bug affecting Android users, which inspired the creation of Memfault's crash reporting and OTA solutions. Baldassari argues that modern embedded teams must adopt agile practices, such as decoupling software from hardware via emulators and implementing 'day 0 updates,' to iterate effectively. He highlights persistent industry challenges, including C language memory management issues, code space constraints, and the emerging crisis of embedded security and privacy.

    Connected products & IoTEmbedded firmware
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Coredump Sessions. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.