According to TechCrunch, Google plans to buy more digital camera technology with Lytro, the "light field optics" startup best known for cameras allowing users to shoot first and focus later.
Founded in 2006 under the name Refocus Imaging, Lytro first started as a hardware maker, selling consumer and professional cameras based on "infinite focus" technology such as the eponymous Lytro and DSLR-style Illum. However the hardware market remains as cutthroat as ever, leading to Lytro refocusing attentions on video, cinematography and AR/VR.
TechCrunch reports the asking price for Lytro is "no more" than $40 million, much lower than the $360m valuation it got on a 2017 fundraising run. The company apparently looked to Facebook and Apple as potential buyers, but Google seems to be the most interested in the technology. One also has to assume an acquisition will cover the 59 patents Lytro owns related to light field and other digital imaging technologies, as well as any Lytro employees willing to become part of Google.
So far neither Lytro no Google have any comment on the TechCrunch story.
