Following reports that it was considering an acquisition of US-based Quantum Dot display company QD Vision, Samsung today confirmed that it is indeed acquiring the company. The confirmation comes from the head of Samsung's Advanced Institute of Technology Jung Chil-hee who told reporters earlier today that the company has decided to take over QD Vision. It's expected that the deal will formally be announced next week.
For those who are unaware, Quantum Dot technology provides better picture quality and happens to be more energy efficient than regular LCD technology. Most TV companies don't make Quantum Dot TVs due to their inability to do this without using the heavy toxic metal cadmium. Samsung is the only company that's making cadmium-free Quantum Dot TVs.
No financial terms of the deal have been disclosed as yet but industry sources are of the view that this company might have cost Samsung around $70 million. That's a drop out of the ocean for a company like Samsung that's already putting considerable time and resources into Quantum Dot technology. Samsung made a commitment earlier this year that it will launch fourteen new SHUD TV models with Quantum Dot technology in 2016. It recently backed that up with a 10-year free burn-in warranty for all of its SHUD TVs with Quantum Dot display.