Bayer Materialscience LLC, a subsidiary of Bayer and part of the global Bayer Materialscience business, has acquired Artificial Muscle, Inc. (AMI) of Sunnyvale, California. AMI is active in the field of electroactive polymers for the consumer electronics industry.

AMI polymers are used in the development, design and manufacture of actuators and sensing components. They offer significant advantages over traditional technologies used in this area. They provide touchscreen panels in consumer electronics with "awareness through touch" by creating authentic tactile feedback, just like a conventional keyboard. This innovative technology has significant application potential, particularly for electronic devices like smartphones, gaming controllers and touchpads.

Through the acquisition, Bayer MaterialScience gains exclusive access to a broad patent portfolio and patent applications owned or exclusively licensed by AMI. This will allow Bayer MaterialScience to address a significant part of the value chain for films in a broad range of applications, as well as to accelerate the introduction of this technology into the market within the next two years. Confidentiality was agreed upon regarding the purchase price.

All AMI employees, including the President and Chief Executive Officer of AMI, Scott Metcalf, will remain with AMI following the acquisition by Bayer MaterialScience LLC.