Apple has quietly bought a startup that manufactures smart glasses lenses – and this suggests the company’s next big gamble.

Apple confirmed Wednesday August 29, 2018 the acquisition of Akonia Holographics, a startup based in Colorado that specializes in the development and production of augmented reality (AR) glasses lenses.

“Apple occasionally acquires smaller companies and we usually do not communicate about the purpose or our projects,” the iPhone manufacturer said in a statement.

The amount and date of the acquisition have not been disclosed. An observer from the augmented reality industry noted that Akonia had been “very discreet” for six months, suggesting that the buyout took place in the first half of 2018.

The company was founded in 2012 in Longmont, Colorado, by holographic scientists who first focused on holographic data storage before embarking on the development of AR lenses. its website.

Augmented reality technology is already usable on mobile phones, as shown by the success of the game Pokemon Go, but major technology groups seek to transpose it to glasses with transparent glasses and portable outdoors.

On its website, Akonia ensures that its technology enables the production of “thin, transparent and intelligent lenses that display vibrant color images.” The company says it has more than 200 patents for systems and holographic materials.

Apple has often bought small businesses whose innovations appear years later in its products. The iPhone X, launched last year, is equipped for example with its function of facial recognition of sensors reminiscent of those developed by PrimeSense, an Israeli company bought in 2013 by the firm at the apple.