Google is pushing forward with its AR ambitions by acquiring the microLED startup Raxium for an undisclosed amount. Credit: Thinkstock Google has acquired Raxium, a five-year-old Bay Area startup working on microLED display technologies for wearables and augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) headsets. “Raxium’s technical expertise in this area will play a key role as we continue to invest in our hardware efforts,” Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of devices and services at Google, wrote in a blog post. The Raxium team will immediately join Google’s devices and services team. The financial terms for the deal were undisclosed, but could be as much as $1 billion according to earlier reports by The Information. Raxium is not the first AR company Google has targeted recently, having purchased the Canadian AR glasses firm North in 2020. Google has also been hiring for an Augmented Reality OS team, focused on building software for an unknown “innovative AR device.” The project is said to be overseen by Labs vice president Clay Bavor, who also manages Project Starline, a video chat booth that makes the person you’re chatting with appear in front of you in virtual reality. Related content feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for Build 22635.3566 for the Beta Channel, released on April 26, 2024. By Preston Gralla 26 Apr 2024 251 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news Dropbox adds end-to-end encryption for team folders Dropbox this week unveiled a range of features, including security updates and key management, and the ability to co-edit Microsoft 365 documents from within the file-sharing app. By Matthew Finnegan 26 Apr 2024 3 mins Cloud Storage Collaboration Software Productivity Software feature Android versions: A living history from 1.0 to 15 Explore Android's ongoing evolution with this visual timeline of versions, starting B.C. (Before Cupcake) and going all the way to 2024's Android 15 (beta) release. By JR Raphael 26 Apr 2024 23 mins Small and Medium Business Smartphones Android news analysis The unspoken obnoxiousness of Google's Gemini improvements Google's Gemini chatbot is seeing all sorts of upgrades on Android this week, but those advancements reveal a darker underlying reality. By JR Raphael 26 Apr 2024 12 mins Google Assistant Google Android Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe