Apple has sealed a $345 million deal to acquire PrimeSense, the company responsible for the design and technology behind the first Kinect sensor of Microsoft's Xbox 360 before the latter decided to make its own. Apple and Primesense did not deny nor confirm the transaction.
In July, Apple purportedly offered to buy the 3D sensor manufacturer for about $280 million. PrimeSense was able to raise a multi-million funding from venture capitalists based in the United States and Israel such as Genesis Partners, Gemini Israel, and Canaan Partners Global.
According to a report on Calcalist, the transaction between the two companies was scheduled to be signed this November but legal impediments were met along the way.
"PrimeSense is the leading 3D technology in the market. 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. We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumors or re-cycled rumors," a spokesperson of PrimeSense said in a statement.
If the purchase of PrimeSense pushes through, it will be Apple's second acquisition of an Israeli component manufacturer. In 2012, Appler acquired storage firm Anobit for $400 million.
With PrimeSense added to Apple's portfolio, the latter's iPhone, iPad, and other products such as wearable devices and televisions sets may soon be equipped with 3D cameras.
"For the first time, owners of ordinary smartphones will be able to easily reproduce virtually anything as a 3-D scan, from pets and people to interiors and exteriors of buildings. And smart devices could be just the beginning of the 3-D sensing wave as everything from televisions to vehicles and home monitoring systems are endowed with depth perception, making it possible for them to 'see' things in space, rather than just reacting to changes in a 2-D image," Forbes' Elise Ackerman said.
PrimeSense was founded in 2008. It is a member of the non-profit organization OpenNI that promotes the interoperability of Natural Interaction hardware and software.
