Synaptics buys Coeur d’Alene’s Pacinian, with likely boost in headcount to follow

Silicon Valley company Synaptics has purchased Coeur d’Alene-based tech startup Pacinian. The announcement, announced recently, will mean an expansion of workers at the Pacinian research office in North Idaho, said CEO Jim Schlosser.

Synaptics is a publicly traded company. It develops input and touchpad devices for major electronics companies including Apple, Asus, HTC, Lenovo, Gateway, HP, Sony, Ericsson, Toshiba and others. It’s estimated to have roughly 65 percent of the notebook touchpad market.

Pacinian, launched in 2007, develops thin and highly responsive keyboards and touchscreens. Its major product to date is the ThinTouch keyboard that uses no electronics but creates a 40 percent thinner contact surface than conventional keyboards.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A press release said: “Synaptics’ superior TouchPad technology, used in the majority of today’s notebook PCs, will be coupled with Pacinian’s innovative ThinTouch keyboard technology to provide an unparalleled human interface experience.”

All of Pacinian’s assets and patents were included in the deal.