Immersion Corporation
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| Immersion Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Industry | Haptic technology licensing |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Louis Rosenberg |
| Headquarters | Aventura, Florida, United States |
| Notable Personnel | Eric Singer (president, CEO and chairman), J. Michael Dodson (CFO), William C. Martin (chief strategy officer) |
| Products | TouchSense haptic technology, haptics patent licenses |
| Website | https://www.immersion.com |
Immersion Corporation is an American company that licenses haptic (touch feedback) patents and technology to makers of game consoles, controllers, phones, cars and virtual reality hardware. Louis Rosenberg founded the company in 1993; it was incorporated in California in May of that year and went public on Nasdaq in November 1999 under the symbol IMMR.[1] Its principal executive offices are in Aventura, Florida.[2]
Immersion's patents have been at the center of several disputes with platform holders. A jury found in 2004 that Sony's PlayStation system, including its DualShock controllers, infringed two Immersion patents, and Sony ended its appeal in 2007. Immersion later sued Meta Platforms over the haptics in the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, which ended with a patent license in February 2024, and in 2023 it sued Valve Corporation over the Valve Index and Steam Deck.[3][4] Since June 2024 the company has also held a controlling interest in Barnes & Noble Education, the college bookstore operator, which now accounts for almost all of its consolidated revenue.[2]
History
Founding and early products (1993-1999)
Rosenberg had built the Virtual Fixtures augmented reality system for the U.S. Air Force while a Stanford doctoral researcher. He later wrote that people's reactions to those prototypes led him to found Immersion in 1993 "with the goal of pursuing mainstream consumer applications."[5] He was chairman, president and chief executive from May 1993.[1]
According to its 1999 annual report, the company began developing touch-enabled computer peripherals in 1993 and built its first three-dimensional digitizer in 1994, later sold as the MicroScribe-3D. The Impulse Engine line of force feedback devices for industrial, research and education users followed in 1995. In 1996 Immersion introduced I-FORCE, its first licensing brand for consumer products, and the first joystick using it went on sale the same year. FEELit, a version for mice and trackballs, came in 1997; Logitech licensed it in 1998 and began selling the first such mouse in the fourth quarter of 1999. Both brands were later renamed TouchSense.[1] By early 2000 Immersion had licensed I-FORCE to 16 manufacturers, including Logitech and Microsoft.[1]
The company also sold specialized medical products, including the Laparoscopic Impulse Engine, described in its filings as a three-dimensional interface "for virtual reality simulations of laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures."[1] Immersion reincorporated in Delaware in 1999, and its initial public offering on the Nasdaq National Market took place on 12 November 1999 at US$12.00 per share.[1]
Acquisitions of 2000
Immersion made three acquisitions in 2000. In March it bought Haptic Technologies, Inc., a Montreal company with about 20 employees, which became Immersion Canada; the deal was valued at about US$6.8 million. On 29 September it merged with HT Medical Systems of Gaithersburg, Maryland, a maker of computer-based medical simulators with about 60 employees, which became Immersion Medical.[6]
In the third quarter of 2000 it acquired Virtual Technologies, Inc., a Palo Alto company with about 15 employees, in a transaction valued at about US$8.0 million. Virtual Technologies made the CyberGlove, CyberGrasp and CyberForce whole-hand gloves, which measure the position of a user's hand and fingers and map them to a graphical hand on screen, along with the VirtualHand Suite 2000 software toolkit.[6] These data gloves gave Immersion a product line used in high-end simulation, design visualization, motion capture and research.[6]
Litigation with Microsoft and Sony (2002-2008)
On 11 February 2002 Immersion sued Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging infringement of U.S. Patents 5,889,672 and 6,275,213; an amended complaint in October 2002 dropped the first and added U.S. Patent 6,424,333.[3] Microsoft settled on 25 July 2003. It received a worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to Immersion's patent portfolio for US$19.9 million, paid US$0.1 million for sublicense rights and a right to share in any later Sony settlement, and bought US$6.0 million of Immersion preferred stock.[3]
The case against Sony Computer Entertainment went to trial on 16 August 2004. On 21 September 2004 the jury found all asserted claims of U.S. Patents 6,424,333 and 6,275,213 valid and infringed and awarded US$82.0 million in damages. Judge Claudia Wilken entered judgment on 24 March 2005 for a total of US$90.9 million including prejudgment interest, and issued a permanent injunction covering the infringing PlayStation consoles, DualShock controllers and 47 games. The injunction was stayed pending appeal, and Sony was ordered to pay a compulsory license fee of 1.37 percent in the meantime.[3]
Sony withdrew its appeals on 1 and 2 March 2007, and the Federal Circuit dismissed them that month. The two companies also agreed a new business arrangement to explore using Immersion's technology in PlayStation products, under which Sony was to pay twelve quarterly installments of US$1.875 million from March 2007 to December 2009.[3][7] Immersion received US$97.3 million on the conclusion of the case.[8] Microsoft then sued Immersion in June 2007, claiming it was owed a share of the Sony money under the 2003 sublicense agreement. The parties settled in August 2008, and Immersion paid Microsoft US$20.8 million that October.[8]
Divestitures and mobile focus (2009-2017)
Immersion left the hardware business in stages. Having announced in late 2008 that it would divest its 3D product line, it sold the CyberGlove, SoftMouse 3D and MicroScribe product families in 2009.[8] InformationWeek reported in March 2009 that the CyberGlove line went to the private equity firm Shackleton Advisors and would be sold by a new company, CyberGlove Systems, led by Faisal Yazadi, who had run CyberGlove sales at Immersion.[9] In March 2010 most of the medical simulation line (the AccuTouch endoscopy system, CathLab VR and LapVR) was sold to CAE Healthcare USA, leaving the Virtual IV needle-procedure simulator developed with Laerdal Medical.[10]
Mobile devices became a major market. Immersion offered TouchSense software development kits for mobile games and video and earlier marketed VibeTonz, a technology for controlling a phone's vibration motor.[3][11] In February 2016 it filed complaints against Apple and AT&T over haptic feedback in the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.[11] It signed settlement and license agreements with Apple on 26 January 2018 and with Samsung Electronics on 12 May 2019.[4]
In December 2017 Immersion announced a restructuring: it left mobile advertising, narrowed its gaming and VR/AR work to development that supported IP licensing, and cut about 56 positions, 41 percent of its workforce.[11]
Licensing company and Barnes & Noble Education (2018-present)
Immersion vacated its San Jose facility in the first quarter of 2020 and in January 2022 leased about 1,390 square feet of office space in Aventura, Florida, which its board approved as the corporate headquarters in February 2022.[4] Eric Singer, a director since March 2020 and executive chairman since August 2020, was appointed president and chief executive in January 2023 while remaining chairman.[12][13]
On 10 June 2024 Immersion led a US$95 million recapitalization of Barnes & Noble Education, made up of a US$50 million private investment and a US$45 million rights offering.[14] Through its subsidiary Toro 18 Holdings it acquired 42 percent of Barnes & Noble Education's common stock and control of the company through five board seats, for total consideration of about US$50.1 million. Immersion has since reported two segments, Immersion and Barnes & Noble Education, and in September 2024 it moved its fiscal year to end on 30 April to match the bookstore business.[13]
An investigation at Barnes & Noble Education into how it recorded cost of sales delayed Immersion's annual report for the year ended 30 April 2025, which was filed in March 2026 with restated earlier results.[13] After Nasdaq delinquency notices over the late filings, Nasdaq confirmed on 14 May 2026 that the company had regained compliance with its reporting rule.[15]
Products and licensing
Immersion describes its business as licensing patents, technology or both to manufacturers that ship haptic products under their own brands. At 30 April 2026 it held "just under 300" issued or pending patents worldwide, down from "just over 400" a year earlier.[2][13] In its fiscal 2026 annual report it named these licensees by market:[2]
| Market | Licensees named in the fiscal 2026 report | Share of Immersion royalty and license revenue, fiscal 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile, wearables and consumer electronics | Samsung, Google, Sony, Panasonic; chip makers Awinic and Dongwoon Anatech | 28% |
| Gaming and VR | Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo (consoles); Sony (VR products); Guillemot and Microsoft (PC gaming) | 45% |
| Automotive | ALPS Alpine, Continental, Preh, Nissha, Mobase Electronics, Tokai Rika, Vishay Intertechnology | 15% |
The table below lists the main product lines Immersion made or sold itself over its history.
| Product or line | Introduced or acquired | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MicroScribe-3D digitizer | First built 1994 | Sold 2009 | 3D digitizing arm[1][8] |
| Impulse Engine | 1995 | Not stated | Force feedback devices for industrial, research and education markets[1] |
| I-FORCE, later TouchSense | 1996 | Licensing brand | First consumer licensing brand, used in force feedback joysticks and wheels[1] |
| FEELit, later TouchSense | 1997 | Licensing brand | Touch feedback for mice and trackballs; licensed to Logitech in 1998[1] |
| CyberGlove, CyberGrasp, CyberForce | Acquired with Virtual Technologies, 2000 | Sold 2009 | Whole-hand sensing and haptic gloves[6][9] |
| Medical simulators (AccuTouch, CathLab VR, LapVR) | Acquired with HT Medical Systems, 2000 | Sold to CAE Healthcare, 2010 | Virtual IV simulator kept[10] |
| TouchSense Force | By 2017 | Not stated | Design tools, APIs, reference designs and firmware for PC, console and VR haptics[11] |
XR work
Immersion's links to VR go back to its founding: Rosenberg's Virtual Fixtures work was an early augmented reality system, and the company's 1990s medical products were built for virtual reality surgical simulation.[5][1] From 2000 to 2009 it owned the CyberGlove family of hand-tracking and haptic gloves.[6][9]
By 2017 the company marketed TouchSense Force as a suite for "the PC/Console gaming/virtual reality markets," aimed at developers, peripheral makers and platforms.[11] In May 2019 it signed an agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment to license its "advanced haptics patent portfolio" and use its haptics technology in gaming and VR controllers.[16] UploadVR noted at the time that the PlayStation Move controllers used with PlayStation VR had only a simple rumble motor.[17] In March 2021 Immersion and StrikerVR, a peripheral maker whose Arena Infinity haptic controller was in use at location-based VR facilities, announced a multi-year license covering StrikerVR's use of Immersion's haptic technologies in its next peripherals.[18]
Meta litigation
On 26 May 2022 Immersion sued Meta in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleging that Meta's AR/VR systems, including the Meta Quest 2, infringed six of its haptics patents. Francis Jose, Immersion's CEO and general counsel at the time, said the company needed its intellectual property "recognized as a necessary feature in the emerging AR/VR/metaverse market."[19][4] The court denied Meta's motion to move the case in May 2023, and the Federal Circuit denied Meta's mandamus petition on 30 October 2023. On 10 November 2023 Immersion filed a second suit aimed at the newly launched Quest 3.[4]
The parties signed a patent license and settlement agreement on 9 February 2024. Meta took a non-exclusive license to the patent portfolio covering its and its affiliates' hardware, software, VR and gaming products, and Immersion said it expected to receive about US$17.5 million after legal fees and other liabilities.[4][20][21]
Valve litigation
On 15 May 2023 Immersion sued Valve in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging that the Valve Index and Steam Deck infringed seven patents, among them U.S. Patent 10,665,067, "Systems and Methods for Integrating Haptics Overlay in Augmented Reality."[2][22] Valve challenged all seven patents with inter partes review petitions, and the court stayed the case in April 2024 while those were decided. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board found all challenged claims unpatentable in each of its final decisions, issued between June 2025 and March 2026. As of its quarterly report filed in September 2026, Immersion's Federal Circuit appeals of two of those decisions (on U.S. Patents 9,430,042 and 10,665,067) were pending, and the district court case remained stayed.[2][23]
Current status
For the fiscal year ended 30 April 2026, Immersion reported consolidated revenue of about US$1.73 billion, of which US$15.9 million was royalty and license revenue from the haptics business, down from US$74.1 million the year before. The haptics segment had eight full-time equivalent employees in the United States and Canada.[2] The company still lists virtual and augmented reality and wearables among the new markets it sees for its patents, and its annual report says its IP covers haptics "as related to virtual and augmented reality experiences."[2] Its earlier risk disclosures also warned that, despite a "significant software and patent position with respect to virtual reality (VR) peripherals and systems," the VR market might not grow large enough to produce material revenue.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 1999". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2000-03-23. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000089161800001663/0000891618-00-001663.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2026-07-24. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000119312526316089/immr-20260430.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2006". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2007-03-16. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000089161807000164/f27349e10vk.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2023". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2024-03-11. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000121390024021235/immr-20231231.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Louis Rosenberg (2022-04-07). "How a Parachute Accident Helped Jump-start Augmented Reality". IEEE Spectrum. https://spectrum.ieee.org/history-of-augmented-reality. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2000". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2001-04-02. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000089161801000265/f70292e10-k405.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ Ludwig Kietzmann (2007-03-01). "Sony and Immersion reach settlement, feel good vibrations". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2007-03-01-sony-and-immersion-reach-settlement-feel-good-vibrations.html. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2009". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2010-03-30. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000095012310029996/f55245e10vk.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Antone Gonsalves (2009-03-20). "Immersion Sheds Its CyberGlove". InformationWeek. https://www.informationweek.com/it-leadership/immersion-sheds-its-cyberglove. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2010". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2011-03-14. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000119312511064314/d10k.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2017". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2018-02-27. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000162828018002309/immr-12312017x10k.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Immersion Corporation press release, January 3, 2023 (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2023-01-03. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000162828023000023/immr01032023exhibit991.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 "Immersion Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2025". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2026-03-12. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000119312526102681/immr-20250430.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Barnes & Noble Education Successfully Completes Milestone Transactions to Significantly Strengthen Balance Sheet and Advance Industry Leading Services for Institutions and Students". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Barnes & Noble Education. 2024-06-11. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1634117/000119312524159120/d818124dex991.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Immersion Corporation Current Report (Form 8-K), May 15, 2026". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2026-05-15. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000119312526225412/immr-20260514.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Immersion Corporation Reports First Quarter 2019 Results and Raises Guidance (Exhibit 99.01 to Form 8-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2019-05-13. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000119312519145365/d713708dex9901.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ David Heaney (2019-05-15). "Sony Licenses 'Advanced Haptics Patent Portfolio' For 'VR Controllers'". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/sony-haptic-patents-acquisition/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Immersion and StrikerVR to Collaborate on Advanced Haptic Peripherals for VR and Gaming". Immersion Corporation. 2021-03-03. https://www.immersion.com/news/immersion-and-strikervr-to-collaborate-on-advanced-haptic-peripherals-for-vr-and-gaming/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Immersion Files Complaint Against Meta Platforms / Facebook With U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2022-05-27. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000162828022015614/immr52720228-kexhibit991.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Immersion Signs License Agreement with Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly known as Facebook, Inc.) (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2024-02-14. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000121390024013643/ex991_1.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ Kyle Wiggers (2024-02-14). "Meta settles lawsuit over haptic feedback tech in Quest headsets". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/14/meta-settles-lawsuit-over-haptic-feedback-tech-in-quest-headsets/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "'Steam Deck' developer Valve sued for patent infringement". GIGAZINE. 2023-05-18. https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20230518-valve-immersion-sue. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
- ↑ "Immersion Corporation Quarterly Report (Form 10-Q) for the quarter ended July 31, 2026". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Immersion Corporation. 2026-09-14. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058811/000119312526389919/immr-20260731.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-11.