Intel has acquired Recon Instruments, a Vancouver, Canada-based maker of heads-up displays for athletes.
Recon makes two products: the Recon Snow2, which is a ski mask with an integrated display, and the Recon Jet, a pair of sunglasses for cyclists and runners, also with an integrated display.
Intel did not reveal the terms of the acquisition, but a spokesperson stated that it was “small and not financially material to Intel.”
Techvibes reported that Intel paid $175 million, but a source tells us that the actual number was lower.
AI Weekly
The must-read newsletter for AI and Big Data industry written by Khari Johnson, Kyle Wiggers, and Seth Colaner.
Included with VentureBeat Insider and VentureBeat VIP memberships.
Recon’s 75-person team will be joining Intel.
A post by Intel senior vice president Josh Walden, who heads up the company’s New Technology Group, stated that Recon would continue selling its products.
“Customers and retailers of Recon products can rest assured they’ll continue selling, enhancing and marketing their products under the Recon brand without disruption,” Walden wrote.
Recon engineers will also begin working with Intel’s New Devices Group to develop additional wearable technologies.
The Jet includes a GPS receiver as well as an accelerometer, gyroscope, altimeter, barometer, and magnetometer. It connects via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ant+ (a wireless connectivity standard used by many sports gadgets). There’s an HD camera and an onboard processor. The HD display is equivalent to a 30-inch screen viewed from seven feet away, according to the company.
As of September 2013, Recon stated, it had shipped 50,000 units of its Snow model, making it far more successful than Google Glass, which had shipped only a few thousand units as of that time. Google has since discontinued its Glass project, although it may be working on a new version.
Intel Capital, the VC arm of the semiconductor company, was one of the investors in Recon Instruments, which had raised $17 million.
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn More