Executive Forum

Boosting fiber-optic sensing offerings, Luna Innovations acquires OptaSense

Dec. 7, 2020

The acquisition of the fiber-optic sensing specialist allows for expansion into high-growth markets such as security and perimeter detection, smart infrastructure monitoring, and oil and gas.

LFW Staff

Advanced optical technology provider Luna Innovations (Roanoke, VA) has acquired fiber-optic sensing solutions developer OptaSense (Houston, TX), a QinetiQ company (Farnborough, England), for approximately $40 million in cash. OptaSense specializes in fiber-optic distributed monitoring solutions for pipelines, oilfield services, security, highways and railways, as well as power and utilities monitoring systems.

The acquisition provides Luna with important distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) intellectual property and products, which strongly complement Luna’s existing portfolio, and provides algorithm-development expertise, critical for AI and machine learning. OptaSense’s research and development talent and highly skilled salesforce, combined with more than 150 active and pending patents, will also enhance Luna’s existing experienced team and broaden its intellectual property portfolio.

OptaSense will become a fully owned subsidiary of Luna Innovations, while continuing to operate under its existing brand for the foreseeable future, and OptaSense employees will remain within the company, with offices in the UK, US, Dubai, and Canada.

Source: Luna Innovations press release – December 3, 2020

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LFW Staff

Published since 1965, Laser Focus World—a brand and magazine for engineers, researchers, scientists, and technical professionals—provides comprehensive global coverage of optoelectronic technologies, applications, and markets. With 80,000+ qualified print subscribers in print and over a half-million annual visitors to our online content, we are the go-to source to access decision makers and stay in-the-know.