Google acquires MicroLED startup Raxium

On May 5, Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh confirmed that the company has acquired Raxium, a 5-year-old startup with Micro LED technology, which could be the technical guarantee for Google to build a new generation of augmented, virtual and mixed reality headsets. , which also adds to the evidence that Google's next big AR move is getting closer.

In January, Google Labs is building an AR headset called "Project Iris," by the same team as the Project Starline high-definition video chat demo shown during last year's I/O conference.

When The Information first reported last month that Google would acquire Raxium, it noted that Micro LED technology could help build AR displays that are more energy-efficient than other solutions, but colors still look vibrant.

In addition, Raxium is working on the "monolithic integration" of Micro LEDs, which means making them out of the same silicon that most processors use, which could eventually bring prices down significantly. Other companies working on Micro LED AR hardware include OPPO, Apple and Vuzix.

Competitors, Microsoft has delivered an augmented reality device through Hololens, and companies such as Apple, Meta, Snap and others are investing heavily in building their own hardware in order to overlay information and images from their platforms on the real world. superior.

According to Raxium's website, the pixel pitch (the distance between the center of one pixel and the center of another pixel next to it) on a Super AMOLED screen on a mobile phone is about 50 microns, while its Micro LED can achieve a limit distance of about 3.5 microns, It also claims "unprecedented efficiency" that is more than five times better than any world record.

Osterloh mentioned the impressive size and efficiency in his blog post about the future display technology that Raxium might build. The company will join Google's Devices and Services team, and its "technical expertise in this area will play a key role in our continued investment in hardware efforts," he said.