Google reportedly spends $1 billion to acquire Micro LED startup Raxium

According to people familiar with the matter, Google acquired Micro LED start-up Raxium for $1 billion (about 6.351 billion yuan), targeting or targeting AR headsets. Neither party has publicly confirmed the deal.

It is understood that Raxium focuses on the development of single-chip integrated RGB Micro LED microdisplays for AR/VR/MR device applications, and its cooperative customers include global technology leaders.

In January this year, foreign media news showed that Google launched an AR project code-named Project Iris, and the product is expected to come out in 2024. Therefore, Google's acquisition of Raxium is aimed at planning to use Micro LED displays on its latest AR headset, people familiar with the matter said.

As the carrier of content presentation and dissemination, Micro LED display has become one of the preferred solutions for AR/VR devices due to its excellent brightness, color, resolution, energy saving, thinness and other advantages. AR/VR devices that display technology, such as Vuzix, OPPO, TCL, Xiaomi, etc.

Based on their optimism about Micro LED display technology, many technology giants have begun to deploy Micro LED technology through acquisitions, cooperation and other forms in recent years. For example, Snap, the parent company of the US social application Snapchat, acquired Compound Photonics, a US Micro LED/LCOS solution provider.

If Google does acquire Raxium, the Micro LED smart head display device is expected to be further expanded in the near future. Although it is reported that Raxium has not released any products yet, it has developed a more efficient Micro LED preparation technology, which is expected to reduce production costs, or promote the commercialization of Micro LED displays in the field of smart head display devices.

From the perspective of AR/VR devices, in fact, Google is not a new player, but one of the first companies in the world to try to develop consumer-grade AR devices. The Google Glass smart glasses that came out in 2012 are the world's first AR devices. glasses. The smart glasses received a lot of attention when they were launched, but the follow-up response was mediocre, with a stark contrast between the front and the back. Due to the failure to break into the consumer market, related projects have been shelved.

However, in 2020, Google acquired Canadian smart glasses maker North Inc. for $180 million, and the industry believes that Google smart glasses will be "reborn". In addition to the Raxium acquisition, people familiar with the matter also said that Google is considering more acquisitions related to AR headset devices. If the news is true, it will further indicate that Google is strongly returning to the next-generation smart head display device track.

Meta and Apple, Google's main rivals, have also acquired AR startups in recent years. Especially after the explosion of the metaverse concept, the two companies have accelerated the development of the next-generation AR/VR/MR headsets.

Among them, in addition to the existing Quest 2 VR device, Meta is said to be working on a new device called Project Cambria. At the same time, Apple is also developing MR headsets and AR smart glasses. According to Ming-Chi Kuo's latest research report, Meta will release new high-end VR headsets in the second half of the year, while Apple will release AR/MR headsets by the end of the year.

Not only that, international companies such as Sony, Samsung, and Microsoft, as well as domestic technology giants such as Tencent, Xiaomi, Baidu, Huawei, and OPPO, have also entered the game. The AR/VR/MR track is already very lively. This track will be a big stage for Micro LED display technology to play a role. More investment and layout around the world will help Micro LED overcome industrial problems and accelerate its entry into the public eye.