Recently a venture capital company in Silicon Valley called Vector Capital has entered the assistive technology field. In a very bold and exciting move they have purchased many of the leading companies, including Freedom Scientific, Optelec, AiSquared and AbiSee.

All these companies are now under the one corporate structure known as VFO, however each company will retain its name and brand and continue to service their traditional markets and customers.

The new organisation will have far reaching benefits by reducing a range of costs including administration, warehousing and shipping, all of which will help reduce prices.

It is in the area of software however that the biggest changes will be realised. All of these companies have had amazing engineering talent in their ranks, but much of their focus has been on competing with each other. With a renewed focus on working together there are many exciting developments on the horizon.

There are no official announcements yet however, we are happy to predict that 2017 will see some exciting developments around the software products that are at the heart of accessibility for all blind and vision impaired people worldwide. We will make sure to keep you informed.