Reviews |Google said to buy Lytro for $40m

Google said to buy Lytro for $40m

Lytro officially ends its light field image sharing platform
News

Google is buying Lytro, the company that introduced light field technology, for $40 million, according to reports.

TechCrunch quotes multiple unnamed sources that say the search giant is on the verge of acquiring the company, which introduced its light field cameras back in 2011.

TechCrunch says it has heard from several people connected to either the deal or the two companies who have confirmed a sale is in progress. TechCrunch writes:

One source described the deal as an “asset sale” with Lytro going for no more than $40 million. Another source said the price was even lower: $25 million and that it was shopped around — to Facebook, according to one source; and possibly to Apple, according to another. A separate person told us that not all employees are coming over with the company’s technology: some have already received severance and parted ways with the company, and others have simply left.

It was only recently that Lytro switched off its hosting platform for its light field images, which was the only place online where users of its cameras could share their work.

Lytro was beginning to shift away from producing hardware like its light field cameras and moving into applying its unique technology to virtual reality formats.

It’s thought that Google’s acquisition could be driven by its own ambitions in that market.