Smartbox has made its third acquisition in six weeks with a swoop for German eye-tracking assistive tech business GazeFirst.
The move will create a new ‘eye gaze’ division at Smartbox Group, a Bristol-headquartered communications technology provider which employs 700 people globally.
Founded in 2023 and based in Frankfurt, GazeFirst’s flagship product, the eyetuitive camera, is one of the first AI-powered eye gaze solutions on the market.
Smartbox said this offers intuitive calibration and cross-platform compatibility and that the potential for it to continuously develop the features and performance of the camera, in line with the needs of people who use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), is an exciting prospect for its teams.
“This is a huge moment for the Smartbox family. We’ve been using eye gaze technology since 2006 and have seen the life-changing impact it can have – empowering people to access their AAC devices and communicate independently,” said Dougal Hawes, group CEO at Smartbox.
“Now, with an AI-powered solution that we’ll design and develop in-house, we’re taking the next step. This innovation will help us deliver the most intuitive, responsive, and empowering eye gaze experience yet – directly supporting our mission to give everyone a voice.”
Last week Smartbox acquired Australian business Zyteq while it also snapped up UK firm ATTherapy more than five weeks ago.