Apple Looks to Acquire PrimeSense, the 3D Sensing Company Behind the Microsoft Kinect

Apple is reportedly considering the purchase of PrimeSense, the company who developed the 3D sensing technology used in the Microsoft Kinect accessory for Xbox.

The news comes from Calcalist via Reuters.


Apple is in early negotiations to buy Israel-based PrimeSense, a developer of chips that enable three-dimensional machine vision, for $280 million, the Calcalist new website said on Tuesday. A delegation of Apple engineering executives visited PrimeSense in early July, Calcalist said.

PrimeSense has raised $85 million in venture capital funds thus far.

Notably, Apple has done some work on 3D itself. Last year the company patented a 3D Graphical User Interface for iOS devices that would work with proximity sensor arrays and would respond to hovering gestures.