Canadian smart glasses company North, which released its first-generation smart glasses product called ‘Focals 1.0’ last year, has been acquired by Google. Rick Osterloh, Google’s SVP of Devices & Services, confirmed the deal citing North’s “strong technology foundation” as a key driver behind the acquisition.
According to Osterloh, North will join Google’s existing team in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, where North is already based, and it will aid with the company’s “hardware efforts and ambient computing future.”
“Today we’re announcing that Google has acquired North, a pioneer in human computer interfaces and smart glasses.
North’s technical expertise will help as we continue to invest in our hardware efforts and ambient computing future. We’re excited to welcome our new colleagues, and committed to the growing global tech community of Kitchener-Waterloo.”
Meanwhile, North’s co-founders Stephen Lake, Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant have noted in a separate blog post that the deal will mean winding down support for Focals 1.0 and cancelling any plans to ship Focals 2.0, which the company had been teasing to release over the last several months.
In an email to North customers, the company has said that it would be refunding the full amount paid for any Focals purchases, most likely to avoid any end of software support complaints.
