Apple has acquired a startup called WaveOne, which was developing AI algorithms for compressing video. Although Apple has not confirmed the acquisition, WaveOne executive Bob Stankosh revealed the news on LinkedIn.
Apple ventures further into AI space with WaveOne acquisition
Stankosh stated that the startup has been sold to Apple, as the tech giant saw the potential in the machine learning/deep learning video technology that was being developed. The company had described itself as “building the next generation of compression of digital media” and was using the latest advancements in machine learning and deep learning to create custom-tailored, context-dependent solutions.
After almost 2 years at WaveOne, last week we finalized the sale of the company to Apple. We started our journey at WaveOne, realizing that machine learning/deep learning video technology could potentially change the world. Apple saw this potential and took the opportunity to add it to their technology portfolio. I want to thank my co-founders, Lubomir Bourdev and Oren Rippel as well as Craig Lytle for helping to bring the idea to market and advancing this concept for commercial applications.
WaveOne’s primary innovation was “content-aware video compression and decompression,” which could run on the AI accelerators built into many phones. The company had between two and 10 employees at the time of the acquisition and had raised $9 million in funding. Some of the startup’s employees are now working on machine learning teams at Apple.
It is customary for Apple to take down a company’s website following an acquisition, and WaveOne’s website was taken offline in January. There are many ways that Apple could incorporate this technology into its own products, including iCloud and Photos storage management, streaming video, and much more.
The acquisition of the startup by Apple is a significant move in the artificial intelligence space. It shows that Apple is continuing to invest in AI technology and is keen to stay ahead of its competitors in this field. The incorporation of WaveOne’s technology into Apple’s products could lead to significant improvements in video compression and storage, which would be a major benefit for Apple’s users.
In conclusion, Apple’s acquisition of WaveOne is a promising move in the AI space, and it will be interesting to see how Apple incorporates this technology into its own products. With the expertise of WaveOne’s employees now working on machine learning teams at Apple, we can expect to see more innovative AI technologies coming from the tech giant.
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