Camera equipment maker GoPro has announced the acquisition of French software maker Kolor. The acquired company’s technology stitches together photos and videos into interactive media.
GoPro which is in the business of selling hardware to adventure enthusiasts around the world, is now looking at diversifying its operations. The terms of the deal was not announced as part of GoPro's first quarter earnings results. The company CEO Nicholas Woodman said: "We are excited to welcome Kolor. GoPro's capture devices and Kolor's software will combine to deliver exciting and highly accessible solutions for capturing, creating and sharing spherical content."
The company aims to provide a realistic image of the street view in maps using virtual reality. The company is searching for a way to expand its business beyond simply selling cameras for skiers, race drivers and other sports-adventure enthusiasts and is also reportedly planning to enter the drone market. The company’s camera equipped drones are currently used to record landscapes for real estate companies and film movie sequences. Now, the company itself is investing in spherical video to convey the sensation of being part of not just extreme feats, but NFL games, live concerts and other events.
"Kolor's mission is to enable the ultimate visual experience -- to transport an audience to another time and space," Kolor CEO Alexandre Jenny said in a statement. "When the best spherical media software is combined with the world's most versatile capture devices, our imagination become our only limitation. We're excited to see what the world captures and shares with GoPro and Kolor."
But the new technology and the new path taken by the company is a difficult place to break even as it is dominated by Google Maps which has been creating interactive photo-spheres and also by virtual reality platform Google Cardboard.
GoPro which is in the business of selling hardware to adventure enthusiasts around the world, is now looking at diversifying its operations. The terms of the deal was not announced as part of GoPro's first quarter earnings results. The company CEO Nicholas Woodman said: "We are excited to welcome Kolor. GoPro's capture devices and Kolor's software will combine to deliver exciting and highly accessible solutions for capturing, creating and sharing spherical content."
The company aims to provide a realistic image of the street view in maps using virtual reality. The company is searching for a way to expand its business beyond simply selling cameras for skiers, race drivers and other sports-adventure enthusiasts and is also reportedly planning to enter the drone market. The company’s camera equipped drones are currently used to record landscapes for real estate companies and film movie sequences. Now, the company itself is investing in spherical video to convey the sensation of being part of not just extreme feats, but NFL games, live concerts and other events.
"Kolor's mission is to enable the ultimate visual experience -- to transport an audience to another time and space," Kolor CEO Alexandre Jenny said in a statement. "When the best spherical media software is combined with the world's most versatile capture devices, our imagination become our only limitation. We're excited to see what the world captures and shares with GoPro and Kolor."
But the new technology and the new path taken by the company is a difficult place to break even as it is dominated by Google Maps which has been creating interactive photo-spheres and also by virtual reality platform Google Cardboard.