Foley & Lardner LLP represented Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), the global technology leader in industrial machine vision, in its definitive agreement to acquire RealSense, a pioneer in depth-sensing cameras and vision technology for robotic perception and Physical AI, for approximately $500 million. The acquisition advances Cognex’s strategy to diversify its growth engine by entering the robotic perception market, a high-growth adjacency that expands its served market opportunity.
Originally founded by Intel in 2014 and spun out in 2025, RealSense has established a leading position in 3D robotic perception, with applications across fixed arm perception-guided robotics, autonomous mobile robots, quadrupeds and humanoids. The acquisition expands Cognex’s served market opportunity by adding exposure to a robotic perception market estimated at $600 million today and expected to grow more than 25% annually to approximately $1.6 billion by 2030. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
Foley’s M&A team was led by partner Jon Gabriel alongside partner Christopher Bourne and associates Sean Aguirre and Sarah McGrath.
Additional Foley subject matter support was provided by partner Raj Tanden and of counsel Marina Choundas (Tax), partners Scott Anderson, Chanley Howell, and associate Erica Bade (IP), partner Kathleen Bardunias and senior counsel Kelsey O’Gorman (Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation), partner Kate Beattie and associate Laura Stateler (Labor & Employment), partner Christopher Swift (International Trade & National Security), partner Greg Neppl, of counsel Sophie Lignier, and associate Jason Gindi (Antitrust & Competition), partner Joshua Roling (Real Estate), and senior counsel Nick Johnson (Environmental).
Arnon, Tadmor-Levy, led by partner Ezra Gross, advised Cognex on Israeli law matters and Evercore served as financial advisor to Cognex on the transaction.
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