Social media company Facebook acquired Ctrl-Labs, a US-based neural interface platform developer backed by e-commerce firm Amazon and internet technology conglomerate Alphabet, for between $500m and $1bn, sources told CNBC.
A spokesperson for Facebook told CNBC the transaction was sized at less than $1bn but did not confirm how much the corporate paid.
Founded in 2015, Ctrl-Labs is working on a wristband-based neural interface that reads and decodes neural signals sent by the brain to the hand in order to let a user control devices. Essentially, the platform understands motions such as the clicking of a mouse without the need for a physical mouse.
The non-invasive system was expected to initially target virtual reality games, and Facebook intends to integrate the technology into its Reality Labs division, which is developing augmented reality smart glasses. Ctrl-Labs had raised $67m in equity financing ahead of the acquisition.
Alphabet subsidiary GV led a $28m funding round for the company in February 2019 that also included Alexa Fund, a corporate venturing vehicle for Amazon, as well as Lux Capital, Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, Breyer Capital and Fuel Capital.
The company had also raised $28m in a May 2018 round co-led by GV and Lux Capital that included Alexa Fund, Vulcan Capital, Founders Fund, assorted angel investors and existing shareholders Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, Breyer Capital and Fuel Capital. It early backers also include Glaser Investments.
