Apple has purchased LuxVue Technology, a company that develops low-power microLED-based displays, reports TechCrunch, citing sources with knowledge of the acquisition. Micro-LEDs have the potential to improve battery life while offering brighter screens than competing technologies.
Little is known about LuxVue, which appears to operate largely under the radar. The company appears to create LED displays that use little energy for use in various consumer electronic products. Back in December of 2013, LuxVue raised $25.2 million in funding for to pursue its micro-LED technology. The company has also filed several patents on micro-LEDs, and one of LuxVue’s investors said the company had “a technical breakthrough in displays.”
LuxVue’s VP of technology, Kapil Sakariya, has ties to Apple, having previously worked as a Display Architect and iPhone Operations and Procurement Manager at Apple. Sakariya was employed at Apple from July of 2006 until November of 2011, when he joined LuxVue.
According to TechCrunch, Apple has made the acquisition to add to its hardware innovations area, which the company has been aiming to bolster in recent years to bring more of its production in-house. Last year, Apple acquired low-power wireless chip provider Passif Semiconductor and is said to be in talks to acquire Renesas SP Drivers, a division of Renesas Electronics that develops chips for smartphone displays.
Update: Apple has seemingly confirmed the purchase to TechCrunch, issuing its usual statement for such circumstances: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
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