By Chuck Martin
North, the makers of Focals augmented reality glasses, has acquired the smart glasses technology portfolio of Intel.
The deal includes the sale of assets and intellectual property relating to Intel’s ‘Superlight’ augmented reality glasses project, according to the acquisition announcement by North, formerly Thalmic Labs.
North plans to use the assets to accelerate its research and development, manufacturing operation and product roadmap. North will now have 650 patents and patent applications relating to smart glasses.
“Augmented reality is an exciting space, and Intel Capital remains a substantial, long-time
investor in North,” stated Wendell Brooks, president of Intel Capital. “Intel’s sale of these assets
to North continues our commitment to supporting the development of Focals and future product generations.”
Focals, the newest of North’s products, are custom-built glasses with a transparent holographic display that only the wearer sees. The glasses allow the wearer to see and respond to text messages, get directions, check the weather and talk to Amazon’s Alexa.
Intel shut down its new devices group and ended development of its Vaunt smart glasses earlier this year. Terms of the agreement between Intel and North were not disclosed.
