Google confirms acquisition of Raxium, may be used for future AR, MR devices
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (GOOG) confirmed late on Wednesday that it was acquiring Raxium, a California-based startup focused on MicroLED technology that many believe could help the tech giant with future augmented and mixed reality headsets.
In a blog post, Rick Osterloh, Google's (GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Senior Vice President, Devices & Services, said Raxium would join Googleâs Devices & Services team and would help the company add to its goal of "building helpful devices and services to improve peopleâs daily lives."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but news of the deal was first reported in March.
Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) shares were down nearly 1% to $2,431.58 in premarket trading on Thursday.
Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) competitor Apple (AAPL) is widely believed to be working on a mixed reality headset that could be released later this year or in 2023 and some have postulated a second-generation version of the device could be released in 2024.
Other tech companies working on augmented reality or mixed reality headsets include Microsoft (MSFT), which has already released its HoloLens headset, Meta Platforms (FB) and Snap (SNAP), among others.
On Wednesday, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets said it would launch a preliminary probe into Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) over its Play Store payments.