Google is acquiring Raxium, a company focused on developing microLED displays for AR and VR applications. The official cost of the acquisition has not yet been announced, however, it is estimated to be around $1 billion.
The company introduced Google Glass back in 2013. The glasses aimed to offer an augmented reality experience by making use of visual, audio, and location-based inputs. Although regarded as one of Google’s failures, they haven’t given up on the concept and continue to acquire startups focused on the technology.
Previously in June 2020, Google acquired North, previously known as Thalmic Labs, an Amazon-backed company that manufacturers the same smart glasses as Google. The latest acquisition comes in line with Google’s plans on expanding the concept of AR glasses.
Raxium focuses on microLED technology that is similar to OLED such that it does not make use of a backlight but each pixel emits its own light. microLEDs are much brighter, consume lesser power, and do not have the same longevity issues as OLEDs.
For headsets and other AR/VR devices, it has been challenging to make microLEDs tiny enough, given that they need to be tiny enough to fill a significant portion of a person’s field of vision.
Raxium claims that it has been able to achieve pixels as small as 3.5 µm, significantly smaller than a typical OLED pixel. However, the company does not yet have a device of its own.
Google has been continuously competing with Apple and Meta in acquiring startups that work in the field of AR glasses. However, they still have a long way to go before the technology is sophisticated enough.
