Foxconn Invests In $200 Million in GoPro, Founder Nicholas Woodman Billionaire
Nick Woodman was inspired to create what would eventually become today’s GoPro wearable cameras after a surfing trip to Australia in 2002. He wanted to capture some close-up action shots and wasn’t able to with amateur camera gears. So he did what any enterprising entrepreneur would do and figured out his own solution to the problem. The initial wearable cameras Woodman created to capture action shots as they happened used 35mm film, but his company’s cameras have evolved into highly durable, HD vid-cams that are sought after by amateurs and extreme sports stars alike.
It turns out Foxconn digs what GoPro has designed as well. The giant Taiwanese manufacturer just bought a significant stake in Woodman Labs, making Nick Woodman a billionaire in the processes. Forbes reported, “Taiwan-headquartered electronics manufacturer Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.), purchased an 8.88% stake in Woodman Labs for $200 million, valuing the San Mateo, Calif. company at $2.25 billion.”
GoPro's Nick Woodman: The Latest Entrepreneur Turned Billionaire (Image Source: Forbes)
The story on Forbes continued with this interesting bit of data, “According to a source close to Woodman Labs, Nicholas Woodman owns a majority of the company; at a minimum 51% ownership, he now has a net worth of at least $1.15 billion.” That’s one heck of a nice Christmas present.
According to a quote attributed to Woodman himself, GoPro and Foxconn “share a vision of the future where content capture, creation and sharing will become an increasingly important form of communication.” We have to agree. The amount of user-generated and captured content being shared across social networks shows no sign of slowing down. Considering GoPro’s understanding of its target market and Foxconn’s massive manufacturing muscle, the two companies should be able to produce some interesting products and may be able to drive the costs down in the process.
