Intel has announced that it has acquired Rivet Networks for an undisclosed sum and will integrate its Killer brand into its wireless portfolio. In addition, Intel plans to license out the software that drives the Killer product line to other companies, and I am interested to see what networking hardware and software Intel will ultimately build from this acquisition.

Rivet Networks is an evolution of Bigfoot Networks, which introduced the Killer NIC (network interface card) over a decade ago. Targeted at gamers, the Killer NIC was supposed to connect to a PCI Express slot to ease the burden of networking, reduce pinging and lag, and improve gaming performance. As our friends at Anandtech pointed out at the time, the Killer NIC cost a hefty $280 at launch and $250 shortly thereafter, but it worked.

Qualcomm swooped in and bought Bigfoot Networks in 2011, and a few years later, key members of the original Bigfoot Networks team spun off Rivet Networks from Qualcomm, taking the Killer brand with them.

They have since developed Killer-branded networking controllers, both wired and wireless. A few years ago we said that motherboards with Killer networking adapters were not worth the money.

More recently, Rivet Networks worked with Intel to develop the Killer AX1650 Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) wireless adapter. I have used the Killer AX1650 in practice and found that it works well when paired with a Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) router.

This is why I am cautiously optimistic about this acquisition: what separates Killer products from non-Killer networking equipment is software and drivers, two areas where Intel excels. as Intel pointed out to me in an email, Rivet Networks is a small company of less than 20 people.

Intel brings a lot of talent to the equation and of course has almost unlimited resources (compared to what Rivet Networks had before the acquisition).

What this will actually lead to remains to be seen. Intel is keeping certain details confidential, but told Anandtech that all Rivet Networks employees who were offered jobs by Intel after the acquisition have accepted the offer. Intel also said it is interested in injecting Killer's DNA into a variety of PC gaming products and scaling them up. Stay tuned.