Rumor: Apple deal to acquire Leap Motion backfired at the last minute

Apple has twice attempted to acquire motion controller maker Leap Motion, Business Insider reports. The second time, this spring, the deal fell through a few days before both companies were due to sign.

Apple is said to have spent between $30 million and $50 million to acquire Leap Motion, Business Insider reported. It is unknown why the deal fell through at the last minute. Apple had already sent Leap Motion employees papers with contracts to come and work at the American manufacturer.

In an earlier takeover attempt in 2013, co-founder David Holz stated that he was not interested in an Apple takeover because he was strongly opposed to the company. It is unknown if that is still the case.

Leap Motion made a motion controller for laptops years ago. Since then, it has worked on hand-tracking technology for use in VR and AR, among others. In recent years, Apple has made ar platform ARKit for iOS and is rumored to be working on glasses that work with augmented reality.