Google Buys 3D Graphics Startup drawElements

By Sarah Price - 24 Jul '14 06:38AM

Google has snapped a 3D graphics firm drawElements in a deal worth more than $10 million.

Google, the world's largest internet search company, continues to expand its portfolio of acquired startups with a Finnish-based 3D graphics firm, drawElements. The deal was announced Wednesday on the startup's official website but Google is yet to confirm it. The financial terms remain undisclosed but reports estimate the value of the acquisition to be more than $10 million.

DrawElements, which is based in Helsinki, Finland, produces graphic tests for companies to make their software compatible with Google's Android operating system. The company offers a range of products and its popular ones include dEQP, which is used to check the standards for accuracy, precision and stability of OpenGL ES and OpenCL GPUs. It is more widely seen as a quality control tool but also offers guidelines about the features in different devices, ZDNet reports.

"We're excited to announce that we're joining Google. Thanks to everyone who has helped us along the way; we're grateful for your support," drawElements wrote on its official website. "Over the next few months, we'll be working with our colleagues on the Android team to incorporate some of our technology into the compatibility test suite."

By acquiring drawElements, Google will have control over standardized 3D graphics. As a result, tech companies will be bound to abide by the imposed laws and build their software accordingly.

Google might be interested in the startup's technology, including its dEQP toolkit as a way to get more involved in the hardware market, The Inquirer reports. The Mountain View, California-based tech giant, will dissolve the startup's team and use its tech to improve products for Android. According to Venture Beat, a small team of drawElements will stay back in Finland for local operations while most of others will be shifted to Mountain View.

DrawElements is the latest and one of the smaller acquisitions made by Google this year. Some of its biggest deals include $3.2 billion worth Nest Labs, $500 million worth satellite company Skybox among others. The company also churned out its Motorola unit to Lenovo for $2.9 billion, which is also one of the biggest moves by Google. Overall, the web giant has more than 20 acquisitions this year.