Google will acquire Canadian tech firm specializing in eye –tracking, AdHawk Microsystems, for $115 million, with an additional 15 million tied to performance as it tries to enter the AR and VR markets, particularly for smart glasses and headsets.
The deal, expected to finalize this week, is revealing Google’s strategy to dominate the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) landscape by integrating AdHawk’s advanced eye-tracking.
More About AdHawk Microsystems
AdHawk Microsystems, founded in 2017, specializes in eye-tracking technology using advanced chips and hardware to monitor and analyze eye movements. Its flagship product, the MindLink glasses, allows manufacturers to track users’ focus and attention, a necessary device for AR and VR technologies.
What makes AdHawk unique is its uses of low-power materials for faster, more effective eye tracking assistive technology by scanning the cornea and pupil, making it more power and speed efficient compared to others.
For Google, AdHawk’s gaining is a strategic move to expand its eye-tracking technology, especially for AR and VR headsets. The applications of eye movement tracking technology will help Google plan to integrate AdHawk’s creation into its expanded augmented reality lineup, most prominently smart glasses.
Google first entered the AR market with Google Glass in 2014 but later stepped back. Recently, however, the Alphabet-owned giant re-entered the space, launching the Android XR operating system for AR/VR devices and building a Google Glass eye tracking technology update by partnering with Samsung to rival Apple’s Vision Pro.
AdHawk’s eye-tracking technology is fundamential to the development of intuitive user interfaces, allowing Google’s devices respond to users’ gaze. If the deal materializes, AdHawk’s team will become part of Google’s Android XR division, strengthening its efforts to create sophisticated, eye movement tracking technology for future smart glasses. The acquisition would assist Google in creating lighter, more power-efficient devices with improved eye-tracking capabilities.
Competitive Landscape
AdHawk Microsystems has also attracted massive attention from other tech behemoths. Meta was also reportedly weighing up acquiring the startup to aid its own AR and VR strategy in 2022. AdHawk’s backers include a succession of leading names, including Samsung, Intel, HP, Sony, and EssilorLuxottica – parent company of Ray-Ban.
With Google acquiring eye-tracking, the tech giant is emerging as an industry giant alongside Apple and Meta in the VR and AR battle. Google’s earlier acquisition of HTC’s VR unit for $250 million in early 2025 also strongly reflects its ongoing emphasis on building state-of-the-at immersive technology.
As the technology behind these products continues to improve, eye-tracking could become a must-have feature for everything from controlling devices to making immersive AR experiences even more enjoyable.
Integrating AdHawk’s technology into Google’s ecosystem could solve key challenges faced by early AR devices, such as power consumption and responsiveness. With its low-power hardware and rapid pupil-tracking capabilities, AdHawk offers Google the technical foundation to develop smarter, more affordable AR glasses.
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