Google buys stake in Glass display maker Himax

The company will hold a 6.3 percent interest in Himax Display, as it looks to fund production upgrades and expand capacity.

Google has decided to invest some cash in the company that helped it bring the head-mounted display in Google Glass to the market.

Himax Technologies, a Taiwan-based semiconductor maker, announced on Monday that Google will acquire 6.3 percent of its subsidiary, Himax Display. The total investment in the subsidiary was not disclosed, but Google has a vested interest in helping the company: Google Glass.

"The purpose of the investment is to fund production upgrades, expand capacity and further enhance production capabilities at HDI's facilities that produce liquid crystal on silicon ("LCOS") chips and modules used in applications including head-mounted display (HMD) such as Google Glass, head-up display (HUD) and pico-projector products," the company said in a statement.

The Google Glass eyewear allows users to do a range of things, from snapping photos to getting directions to and from a location. Himax provides the display technology in those glasses.

According to Himax, Google reserves the right to continue buying up shares in Himax Display for a period of one year. If it does so, the search giant will own, at most, 14.8 percent of Himax Display.

Assuming closing conditions and regulatory approvals are met, Himax expects the Google transaction to close this quarter.