Skip to main content

Apple completes buyout of Kinect sensor company PrimeSense

Apple completes buyout of Kinect sensor company PrimeSense

Share this story

xbox 360 stock
xbox 360 stock

Apple has confirmed its acquisition of PrimeSense, the Israeli startup behind the 3D sensor in Microsoft's Kinect camera peripheral for the Xbox 360. An Apple spokesperson gave All Things D the following prepared statement, which it typically uses in such situations: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

The final purchase price was around $360 million, according to All Things D's sources. Globes, which first reported news of the completed acquisition on Sunday, put the price at between $300 and $350 million. Rumors of the buyout circulated in July in Israeli newspaper Calcalist, then again earlier this month.

Although Apple isn't saying anything about the intentions behind its purchase, PrimeSense's technology could theoretically be used in a range of products from Cupertino. 9to5Mac reported in September that Apple was "testing Xbox Kinect-like motion sensors for future TV-related products," and PrimeSense has also been working on smaller components for mobile devices.

Update: PrimeSense has also confirmed the deal. "We can confirm the deal with Apple. Further than that, we cannot comment at this stage," says a PrimeSense spokesperson in a statement issued to The Verge.