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After years of financial struggles, action camera pioneer GoPro is being acquired<\/a> for $285 million.<\/p>\n A company called \u201cStarman Optical\u201d has agreed to merge with GoPro. The deal involves Starman Optical paying GoPro shareholders $1.14 per share, and leaving those shareholders with about 10% of the newly combined company. The deal, expected to close by the end of this year, will wipe away GoPro\u2019s outstanding debt of $92 million.<\/p>\n The merger, announced Tuesday morning, comes a few months after GoPro revealed it was considering pivoting from building cameras to becoming a defense tech company. A day or so ago, YouTuber Markiplier revealed he had amassed<\/a> an 8.5% stake in GoPro.<\/p>\n That appears to still be on the cards, as the company said the merger will \u201cmaximize the value of GoPro\u2019s IP and growth potential in consumer, commercial and defense markets by recapitalizing the company, strengthening its balance sheet, investing in growth and onshoring the manufacturing of products for strategic markets.\u201d <\/p>\n GoPro will also \u201cfully support\u201d its existing consumer products while \u201cinvesting in growth and a broader, diversified product roadmap.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not exactly clear what all that means, and Starman Optical doesn\u2019t have a significant track record to judge its performance.<\/p>\n The company bills itself as an \u201coptical-photonics company focused on the development and domestic manufacturing of optical transceivers and related photonics technologies through its Starman New Photonics business.\u201d Both Starman Optical and Starman New Photonics are part of Starman Holdings, which owns consumer tech brands like Incase, Incipio and Griffin. <\/p>\n Starman Optical was only incorporated in Delaware on August 31, while Starman New Photonics appears to have been created in 2025, and is building a manufacturing facility in New Jersey<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAdvanced optics and imaging are essential to AI, national security, and the broader economy, yet much of the critical hardware supporting these technologies continues to be manufactured overseas,\u201d Charles Tebele, the CEO of Starman Holdings, said in a statement. \u201cThe combination of GoPro\u2019s world-class optical expertise and intellectual property with Starman\u2019s advanced transceiver capabilities and U.S. manufacturing platform creates a unique opportunity. Together, we intend to bring production of these critical components back to the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n GoPro went public<\/a> in 2014, when its action cameras were selling millions of units per year. In the decade since, the company tried branching into new categories like drones and 360-degree cameras, but it didn\u2019t find much luck with either. GoPro then refocused on high-performing versions of its action cameras, and kept them targeted at pros, prosumers and athletes, but it had to conduct multiple rounds of layoffs as it narrowed the business.<\/p>\n In June, GoPro warned shareholders that it may go out of business without new funding<\/a>. The following month, founder and CEO Nick Woodman said he was putting $20 million into the business<\/a> to keep things going.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect this merger to enable GoPro to grow across consumer, commercial and defense markets as a leading American imaging and optical solutions company, addressing important areas of national security related to cameras, optics and AI infrastructure. We\u2019re excited to combine with the Starman team to capitalize on this opportunity and play an important role in America\u2019s future,\u201d Woodman said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n