Google is heavily rumored to be purchasing Lytro, the light-field camera startup company, with the move said to be costing somewhere in the region of $25-40 million dollars.
No official statement has been made by either Google or Lytro, but according to TechCrunch, a number of sources that are “connected to the deal” have shared information on the purchase.
A source from one of the companies referred to the deal as an “asset sale,” and one that was allegedly shopped around to the likes of Facebook and Apple. The move will see a shakeup in employees too; some have been laid off, while others have left voluntarily.
Since its formation in 2006, Lytro has raised over $200 million in funding – and was even valued at $360 million last year.
Lytro unveiled their first model back in 2011. The camera captured the “light field” of a scene, aka the data of light rays, allowing users to use a web viewer in order to select and adjust the focal point of their photo simply by clicking on the selected area. The technology didn’t set the market on fire in the way that some seemingly predicted, with a later model, the Illum, falling from its original retail price of $1,600 down to $400, less than a year after its release.
