Intel’s camera spinout RealSense has agreed to join Cognex in a deal valued at about $600M, giving the machine vision veteran a direct route into robot perception.
Nasdaq-listed Cognex will pay roughly $500M in cash, plus a three-year retention package worth $56.5M and $50M in restricted stock units. Most of RealSense’s 180 employee-shareholders collect at least $330,000. Intel, which kept a 20% stake and a board seat when it spun the unit out 14 months ago, also benefits.
RealSense makes depth cameras that combine stereo vision, structured light and time-of-flight sensing so robots and drones can map space and avoid obstacles, along with 3D scanning and gesture recognition. The company says its revenue has tripled since leaving Intel and it expects $80M to $90M in sales this year, with two profitable quarters behind it.
Cognex chief executive Matt Moschner wants those 3D capabilities bolted onto its identification and measurement range to build what he calls a full-stack visual intelligence platform for physical AI. The unit becomes Cognex’s primary development centre.
The Facial Authentication business, deployed at airports, banks and data centres, is excluded and will be spun off separately with about 25 staff. The deal needs regulatory clearance and should close in the fourth quarter.
