Firm that spun off from Intel last year set to be acquired by Natick’s Cognex for $500M

Natick-based industrial machine-vision company Cognex Corp. has agreed to acquire RealSense, a California-based cameras and vision tech firm that spun off from Intel last year. The two firms announced Tuesday they had reached a definitive agreement that would see RealSense acquired by Cognex for $500 million, funded through existing cash and investments on Cognex’s balance sheet. Cognex said the acquisition allows it to scale up RealSense’s work in ensuring robots and autonomous systems can perceive the real world accurately.  "RealSense represents a compelling strategic expansion for Cognex into robotic perception, one of the most attractive adjacent markets in machine vision," Matt Moschner, president and CEO of Cognex, said in the announcement. "RealSense brings a leading 3D perception platform with proprietary technology, a strong developer community, and a compelling value proposition for customers.” Originally founded by Intel in 2014, RealSense was spun out from Intel in July 2025. The firm’s products help robotic technology of various types perceive and understand three-dimensional environments. RealSense is expected to generate between $80 million and $90 million of revenue in 2026, representing more than 50% growth over the prior year.  Prior to the acquisition closing, RealSense said it will spin out its facial authentication product line into an independent company. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.  New York-based financial advisory firm Evercore advised Cognex on this transaction. Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.