Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) revealed that it has purchased the assets of iKubu Ltd., a privately-held Stellenbosch (South Africa)-based startup that designs computer vision and radar systems for the cycling market.
The financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
iKubu was in the last stages of developing the Backtracker low-energy bike radar that informs the cyclist about the speed and distance of vehicles approaching from behind.
The low-energy (LE) radar sits on the rear of the bike and the data is sent wirelessly to a device mounted on the bike’s handlebars. It can sense rear-approaching vehicles at a distance of 140 meters.
According to iKubu , this technology will be incorporated into Garmin’s present range of products. Most of the startup’s employees will join Garmin’s subsidiary in South Africa, where they will continue to operate mostly as a research and development center.
Established in 1989, Garmin has built a reputation in the consumer and professional navigational space. It has produced everything from GPS watches and heads-up displays for car windshields to standalone mobile apps.
Garmin is a very popular brand among runners and cyclists, with watches of all ranges helping users track their movements to see how far and fast they are moving in real time.
Garmin is battling a perpetual problem for cyclists around the world by purchasing iKubu. In the U.S. alone, 722 cyclists died in crashes in 2012.
iKubu, on the other hand, will get the necessary resources to develop and market its existing products and also gain scale by including the essential short-range radar technology into other products.
Garmin has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include Digi International Inc. (DGII), Emulex Corporation (ELX) and Infinera Corporation (INFN). All these hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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