Microsoft on Friday announced it has acquired N-trig, the Israeli firm behind its popular Surface Pen for the Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3. The two tech giants have been partners since 2008 and N-trig is even a supplier for Redmond.
Founded in 1999, N-trig makes both digital pens and chips for touchscreens. It employs about 150 people and has more than 100 patents in its name. Its technology has been used in dozens of consumer products from Dell, Lenovo, HP, Fujitsu, Sharp, Toshiba and other major OEMs.
“We can’t wait to show you what we’ll deliver for our Surface Fans in the future,” Microsoft said of the acquisition.
“Digital pens have a ways to go to be as good as pen and paper on some dimensions, and we’ll get there. But more importantly, adding the ability to capture and share the work you do with a digital pen opens up possibilities that traditional pen and paper just can’t match. Today’s investment is another step that will let us push that innovation forward.”
The acquisition will see N-trig’s employees migrating to Microsoft’s office in Israel, reports the Calcalist.
Financial terms of the deal remained undisclosed, but according to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft had to shell out $30 million.
