Meta has acquired Lofelt, a Berlin-based startup creating superior haptic applied sciences for VR and different units. In line with The Wall Avenue Journal, the acquisition happened earlier this summer season, nevertheless the deal got here to mild solely simply final week.
“Lofelt is now embarking on a brand new journey, and we’ll sundown our merchandise on July seventh, 2022,” the corporate writes on its webpage. That’s how the corporate broke the information just a few weeks in the past that it was winding down its merchandise, albeit with none publicly accessible purpose on the time.
WSJ stories there’s nonetheless no specifics on the phrases of the deal, or whether or not its 25 staff are making the transfer to the Meta mothership. Based in 2014, Lofelt has garnered round €10 million (~$10 million USD) to develop each haptic software program and {hardware}.
“We’ve got loved working with you all on our first product, the Basslet, our wide-band voice coil haptic actuators, and just lately constructing our haptic design apps throughout desktop and cell platforms,” the corporate writes. “As we transfer ahead, we need to just be sure you have ample time to complete up any tasks you could have began with Studio and may transition away from our instruments.”
With the Lofelt buyout, it doesn’t seem Meta is slowing its spate of VR-focused acquisitions, and that’s regardless of elevated scrutiny by the US Federal Commerce Fee (FTC). In July the FTC alleged Meta was trying to “purchase its strategy to the highest” with its most up-to-date acquisition of Supernatural sport studio Inside.
And as a self-admitted ‘metaverse firm’, Meta has achieved its fair proportion of offers just lately. Over the previous two years Meta has acquired plenty of VR studios, together with Beat Video games (Beat Saber), Sanzaru Video games (Asgard’s Wrath and others), Prepared at Daybreak (Lone Echo and others), Downpour Interactive (Onward), and BigBox VR (Inhabitants: One). Its current XR {hardware} acquisitions embody VR/AR show makers Think about Optix, wrist-worn haptics firm CTRL-labs, and laptop imaginative and prescient studio Scape Applied sciences.