Intel invests $24.8m in wearable tech firm Vuzix

Vuzix will use the investment to bring fashion-based wearable displays to the consumer market

Intel has invested $24.8m in video eyewear specialist Vuzix Corporation as it continues to push into the wearable technology market.

The investment is stock-based, with 49,626 of Vuzix's stock being purchased by Intel. The deal gives Intel a 30 percent stake in Vuzix and the opportunity to appoint two additional members to the company's current board of five directors.

Vuzix said the investment will help it "accelerate the introduction of next generation fashion-based wearable display products into the consumer market".

Vuzix, which is based in Rochester, New York, supplies a range of smart glasses and virtual and augmented reality headsets aimed a both enterprises and consumers, including the M100 smart glasses developed in partnership with Lenovo.

Intel sees wearable technology as a growth area for its chipsets, moving it beyond being a provider of chips for servers, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

With Intel providing the chips and partners such as SAP and Layar providing supporting software, Vuzix could be in a position to make a real impact on both the enterprise and consumer sections of the wearable technology market.

Intel's investment will not just help Vuzix bring its next generation of video eyewear to the market, but it also bolsters the company's difficult financial position. In its third quarter financial report, Vuzix indicated it had suffered over $3m of net loss and faced "going concern" issues over operating losses and liquidity.

V3 contacted both Intel and Vuzix for more information on the investment, but both companies have yet to reply.

Several major companies have been teaming up to provide wearable products and services. SAP recently partnered with Samsung to push into the industrial side of the wearables market.

While Salesforce has teamed up with Accenture to strengthen the position of its Salesforce Wear initiative, designed to accelerate the adoption of wearable technology in the enterprise sector.

Intel has also been rumoured to be working with Google about providing chips for its Glass devices to help give them a more business focus.