Apple Reportedly Acquires 3-D Sensing Company Behind Microsoft's Kinect Technology
November 17, 2013
Apple has reportedly acquired PrimeSense, the Tel Aviv-based company behind Microsoft's Kinect technology.
That's according to the Israeli business newspaper Calcalist, which is also the publication that first reported that the two parties were in advanced talks for an acquisition deal back in July.
Now, apparently, a deal has been reached between the iDevice maker and the 3-D sensing company to the tune of $345 million, which is $65 million more than the valuation reported four months ago.
Reuters notes the following statement from PrimeSense:
"We are focused on building a prosperous company while bringing 3D sensing and natural interaction to the mass market in a variety of markets such as interactive living room and mobile devices," a spokeswoman for PrimeSense said. "We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumors or recycled rumors."Founded in 2005, PrimeSense develops technology that was originally applied to gaming, but it has since branched out into other markets. These offshoot markets include fields in which Apple is involved: television, personal and mobile computing, retail, and robotics. If Calcalist's report is indeed accurate, PrimeSense makes up Apple's second acquisition of an Israeli company. The first is the flash memory firm Anobit, which Apple acquired in January 2012 for a reported $390 million.
