GoPro sells itself in $285M reverse merger as optics firm targets AI data centers
创业邦 · wechat · 2026-09-04
GoPro announced a merger with US optics company Starman Optical: existing shareholders receive $285M cash ($1.14/share) and keep 10% of the combined company, while Starman takes 90% — a classic reverse merger. GoPro's $92M debt will be repaid, the company stays on Nasdaq, and its camera/subscription business survives.
- Starman makes optical transceivers, a critical component for AI data center fiber interconnects, and plans to expand into AI data centers, defense, robotics and aerospace.
- The piece traces GoPro's arc: founded in 2002 for surf photography, worth $4B at its 2014 IPO with $1.394B revenue; then the Karma drone battery-recall fiasco, defeat by DJI's Mavic, and market share erosion to DJI (40.1%) and Insta360 (37.9%) in Japan by 2025, leaving GoPro at 18.9%.
- The action-camera pioneer effectively exits via the AI infrastructure boom.
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