Optical technology vendor, Luna Innovations has acquired OptaSense from parent company, QinetiQ for £29m.
OptaSense delivers fibre optic distributed monitoring solutions for pipelines, oilfield services, security, highways and railways, as well as power and utilities monitoring systems. The acquisition aims to create a significantly larger combined optic sensing company, providing Luna with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) intellectual property, products and expertise.
It will additionally provide algorithm-development expertise, critical for AI and machine learning. OptaSense’s research and development talent and salesforce, combined with more than 150 active and pending patents, will also enhance Luna’s existing team and broaden its intellectual property portfolio.
OptaSense will become a fully owned subsidiary of Luna, while continuing to operate under its existing brand for the foreseeable future. OptaSense employees will remain within the company, with offices in the United Kingdom, Dubai, the United States and Canada.
Scott Graeff, president and chief executive officer of Luna explained: ‘The acquisition of OptaSense marks an incredibly important milestone in Luna’s history and will further support our growth trajectory. This transaction allows Luna to acquire a leader in fibre optic sensing solutions and distributed acoustic sensing systems of a global size and scale that will truly be transformative to our company. We are very excited about welcoming them to the Luna team.’
Steve Wadey, QinetiQ chief executive officer, added: ‘We are delighted to announce the sale of OptaSense to Luna, who will provide greater synergies and relevant market access to enable and accelerate their future growth.’
