Go Pro CEO says cameras are 'what we were founded to do and it’s what we will always do' following merger uncertainty — but I'll believe it when I see it | Tech Radar
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Go Pro CEO says cameras are 'what we were founded to do and it’s what we will always do' following merger uncertainty — but I'll believe it when I see it
Seeking to allay concerns, Nick Woodman has assured Go Pro customers that its action cameras aren't going anywhere.
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Go Pro's Hero 13 Black, its most recent flagship-line Hero camera. (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
Go Pro CEO Nick Woodman has released a statement following concern around the company's "merger" with Starman
He provides assurances that the company is committed to making consumer cameras
But there are no concrete commitments – and a disclaimer list that's longer than the statement itself
Go Pro has been in the spotlight over the past couple of days following the announcement of its "merger" with Starman Optical Inc, a private optical photonics company that few of us had heard of before two days ago.
The announcement caused a heap of speculation among Go Pro enthusiasts, much of it negative. Consumer cameras were barely mentioned, with Go Pro's output being described as "industry-leading imaging solutions featuring innovative, advanced optics, market-defining technology and an associated IP portfolio."
A quote from Go Pro CEO Nick Woodman described Go Pro's ambitions following the merger to be to grow across "commercial and defense markets as a leading American imaging and optical solutions company, addressing important areas of national security related to cameras, optics and AI infrastructure".
For a lot of people — myself included — alarm bells started ringing. It sounded a lot like Go Pro would be pivoting away from consumer cameras. This backlash has clearly reached Woodman, as he has released a follow-up statement. In a letter addressed directly to the "Go Pro community, fans and customers", he provides assurances that the company is still wholeheartedly committed to making cameras, and that there are no plans for this to change.
"Making amazing cameras for all of you is our core DNA and reason for being and that will never change!" Woodman says.
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He describes how Go Pro's improved financial situation following Starman's wiping of its debts will allow the company to "innovate, invent and advance the future of consumer and professional content creation". He acknowledges that Go Pro is going to become a more "diversified" company, but that this should improve its financial situation and allow it to keep on making and releasing cameras.
And he finishes with one more assurance that Go Pro is going to keep on making "the world’s highest-performance cameras and building the products, services and innovations that help you capture life’s most exciting moments. "It’s what we were founded to do and it’s what we will always do", says Woodman.
The Go Pro Mission 1 Pro on test for Tech Radar. (Image credit: Future)
Reading Woodman's full letter, there are a couple of things that immediately jump out. One is that he stops short of making any concrete commitments — nary a hint of "we plan to release [X] number of cameras by [X] date" or anything similar. Another is that the list of disclaimers at the bottom is twice as long as Woodman's actual statement. In the disclaimers, we are unambiguously reminded that "forward-looking statements" are subject to "risks, uncertainties, and assumptions", and that material outcomes in reality may differ.
As evidence to support Go Pro's commitment to image-making, Woodman points out that the company has accrued more than 2500 patents over the last 24 years. Which is very commendable, but the discerning reader will likely point out that these patents were all made before Go Pro was bought up by a defense-focused AI optics company. As such, they don't do much to address the substance of people's concerns.
So, while it is nice to see Woodman saying something directly to Go Pro customers following the alarmingly vague statement that was made to announce the merger, I wouldn't fully relax just yet. Ultimately, the real test of Go Pro's commitment to cameras is going to come over the next few years as we see what the company releases.
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Writer, photographer and editor Jon Stapley is an expert in all things cameras and digital art.
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