A Roanoke company specializing in fiber-optic sensing and monitoring technology finished last year with a giant investment and a major acquisition.
Luna Innovations Inc. announced in December that New York City-based White Hat Capital is putting $50 million into the company, and Luna is using about half of that to buy a United Kingdom-based fiber-optic sensing company called Silixa.
The moves are part of Luna’s five-year plan to expand what its technology can do. Where the company once was limited to 100 meters of range — good for monitoring potential trouble in automobiles and aircraft, to name two uses — the goal was to become the world leader in optic sensors on bridges, tunnels, dams, pipelines and other large structures, Luna President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Graeff said in a recent interview.