Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) plans to acquire Oculus VR Inc for $2 billion. The two year old company makes virtual-reality glasses for gaming. The acquisition will help the social networker to mark its presence in the growing wearable devices arena.
Big plans for Oculus
Yesterday, the social networker said that the virtual-reality technology is seen as the upcoming social and communications platform. In a conference call on Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “The history of our industry is that every 10 or 15 years there’s a new major computing platform, whether it’s the PC, the Web or now mobile.”
On the acquisition, the CEO said, “We’re making a long-term bet that immersive, virtual and augmented reality will become a part of people’s daily life,” and on the Oculus goggles, he said that they are, “different than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
The 29-year-old Zuckerberg said that the company is not interested in offering hardware’s, and do not see making profit by selling such devices, in the long term. Instead, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) software and services would continue to support the company’s underlying business, and may be generating revenues from Oculus devices through everything from advertising to sales of virtual goods.
The CEO stated that Oculus will operate as an independent company, and Facebook’s plans to utilize Oculus abilities beyond the games.
“Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face – just by putting on goggles in your home,” he said.
Changing trends
The acquisition will follow one of the most talked deals of Whatsapp for $19 billion. Both the deal reflects the company’s expectations of the transformation, in the technology industry. After the IPO, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) ran into troubles for the slow adaption to the mobile platform, however, now it looks that the company has recovered well.
Experts believe that the wearable devices are the next big thing in the tech industry with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) planning to launch Google Glass. Last week, there were reports claiming that it is making efforts to develop computerized wristwatches.
Over the past six months, shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) are up 25% while on Tuesday, the shares closed at $64.89 up 1.23%.
