Machine vision company Cognex buys Intel robotics spinoff RealSense for $600M

U.S. machine vision company Cognex announced its plans to acquire RealSense, a robotics and computer vision startup spun out from Intel in 2015. Cognex plans to pay around $500 million in cash for the startup, alongside a three-year cash retention program amounting to $56.5 million for RealSense employees, and grant them restricted stock units valued at approximately $50 million.

The deal implies that most of RealSense's 180 employees, who are shareholders, will receive at least $330,000. RealSense's primary product is its popular line of "depth cameras," which use stereo vision, structured light, and time-of-flight technology to ascertain depth. These cameras are often found in robots, aiding them to ascertain the distance to objects and navigate environments safely.

Additionally, RealSense creates 3D scanning technology, gesture and facial recognition technologies for touchless devices and security applications. The company was founded in 2014 as a research project within Intel and was initially well-received, with significant funding from private equity firms. RealSense's operations grew rapidly, and it reported a profit in its last two quarters.

Intel maintains a 20% stake in RealSense and one board seat. Cognex's interest lies in RealSense's 3D depth perception and robot navigation capabilities, which they intend to integrate with their existing machine vision technology. This acquisition is expected to expand Cognex's offerings in industrial identification, 2D and 3D machine vision measurement, 3D depth perception, and robotic navigation.