Intel bought a German drone-maker just a week after closing its largest acquisition ever
Rick Wilking/Reuters
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But all 75 employees of Ascending Technologies are receiving an offer to join Intel once the acquisition is complete, the company's spokesperson said.
The acquisition is the latest deal in an Intel buying spree, as the world's No.1 chipmaker looks for new markets and business opportunities amid a slumping PC market.
In a blog post, Intel wrote that the acquisition will help take its 3D Real Sense technology to the broader drone market, where it could be used to improve drone safety.
In particular, the algorithms developed by the drone maker, combined with Intel's depth-sensing technology, will help drones avoid obstacles and collisions, Intel wrote.
During last year's Consumer Electronics Show, Intel showcased Firefly drones made by Ascending Technologies that came with six Real Sense 3D cameras, enabling them to navigate their environment and even advance through an obstacle course.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich will deliver the pre-show keynote address for this year's CES on Tuesday, where he is expected to further explain his decision to buy Ascending Technologies.
Today's acquisition comes just a week after Intel closed its deal to buy Altera, a programmable chip maker, for $16.7 billion. The Altera acquisition, which is the largest ever by Intel, is expected to boost Intel's presence in the connected devices market, which is a segment that Intel has been exploring as its next growth engine, alongside the data center market.
Wendell Brooks, Intel's head of mergers & acquisitions, said that Intel could make more acquisitions this year, as the company looks to move beyond the PC chips market, historically its largest sales-driver.
Here's a video that shows the drones Ascending Technologies made in partnership with Intel:
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