Qualcomm sells its augmented reality business for $65 million

Qualcomm has agreed to sell its augmented reality business Vuforia to PTC for $65 million. Vuforia is a five-year-old mobile vision platform that enables applications (apps) to see and connect the physical world with digital experiences that demand attention, drive engagement, and deliver value. Vuforia is supported by a global ecosystem of developers in 130 countries, and has powered more than 20,000 apps with more than 200 million app installs worldwide. Vuforia supports multiple developer tools, including Eclipse, xCode, and Unity and runs on multiple operating systems and devices, including iOS and Android phones, tablets, and selected mobile eyewear. [caption id=“attachment_2466752” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] PTC plans to integrate Vuforia with its IoT and analytics platforms. “The combination of Vuforia and PTC leverages two transformational technology trends – Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented reality (AR) – to deliver a new class of products that merge the digital and physical worlds,” the company said. “We are pleased with the prospect of adding the market-leading AR technology platform, together with its large developer community, to our technology portfolio. Vuforia will accelerate our leadership position helping companies to fundamentally change the way their products are created, operated, and serviced,” said PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann. “We are excited about leveraging Vuforia’s technology leadership in the consumer market while unleashing the Vuforia capabilities into the enterprise," Heppelmann added.