Samsung has signed a deal to acquire Tel Aviv-based smartphone camera company Corephotonics Ltd, the Israeli financial daily Calcalist reported on Monday.
The deal is worth $155 million, one person familiar with the matter told Calcalist on condition of anonymity.
The newspaper first reported that the Korean electronics company was considering the acquisition earlier this month.
A Samsung representative declined Calcalist’s request for comment.
Samsung had been one of the leading investors in Corephotonics, having participated in two out of three of the company’s funding rounds, according to the report.
The company’s other investors include Magma VC, Amiti Ventures, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and Solina Chau’s Horizon Ventures, as well as flash storage maker SanDisk and Chinese telephone services provider CK Telecom.
Founded in 2012 by optics and miniature digital cameras expert David Mendelovic, Corephotonics develops dual camera technologies designed to improve the performance of smartphone cameras. To date, the company raised $38 million, according to Pitchbook data.
In 2017, Corephotonics sued Apple for patent infringement of its smartphone camera technology. Corephotonics alleged that Apple adapted its patented dual aperture camera technology for mobile devices into the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus without Corephotonics’ authorization.