Himax Technologies announced today that Google, Inc. has agreed to purchase 6.3% of the company's subsidiary, Himax Displays Inc. The investment, which has yet to pass regulation or be cleared by governing bodies, is for company stock, with the option to increase those holdings over the next calendar year, once the deal closes.
If Himax Displays Inc. makes you shrug in confusion, that's because they're a background player in the technology world. Himax Displays is responsible for a myriad of Pico Projectors and Heads-Up Displays (HUD), as well as the liquid-crystal on silicon used in Google Glass.
This investment of Google's is said to help increase production, and includes the caveat that Himax will fund expansion and capacity for HDI. While no roadmap for expansion or capacity increase has been laid out, we'd like to believe this is a gesture on behalf of Google for Glass production to take place on a massive scale. With the display manufacturer in their back pocket, and the relationship likely to grow over time (Google could end up owning about 14% of the company over the next year), this seems like a long-term strategy for Glass. HDI makes projection displays, so Google's only real play would be Glass, unless they’ve got something else in the works as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment