Apple Acquires WaveOne Startup Working on AI-Powered Video Compression

Apple recently acquired WaveOne, a California-based startup that was developing AI algorithms for video compression, according to TechCrunch.

WaveOne Apple
Apple did not confirm the acquisition, but former WaveOne executive Bob Stankosh said a "sale of the company to Apple" was finalized earlier this year. In addition, the report notes that WaveOne's website was taken offline around January and that several of the company's employees now work at Apple on various machine learning teams.

WaveOne was working on "content-aware" video compression and decompression algorithms to reduce the size of video files, according to the report:

Leveraging AI-powered scene and object detection, the startup's technology could essentially "understand" a video frame — allowing it to, for example, prioritize faces at the expense of other elements within a scene to save bandwidth.

It's unclear how much Apple paid for WaveOne or when the startup's technologies might be integrated into Apple's software platforms.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Releases First Betas of iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3

Monday December 16, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2. iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software update. There's no word yet on what's included in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, ...
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

Apple 'Working' on Redesigned Magic Mouse With a Long-Awaited 'Fix'

Sunday December 15, 2024 8:43 am PST by
Apple is working on a redesigned Magic Mouse that will address some "longstanding complaints," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple in recent months has been working on a "full overhaul" of the Magic Mouse with a design that "better fits the modern era." However, he does not expect the new Magic Mouse to be released in the "next 12 to 18...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

AirTag 2 Expected to Launch Next Year With 'Considerable' Upgrade to Item Tracking

Sunday December 15, 2024 2:57 pm PST by
Apple plans to release a second-generation AirTag next year with "considerably" longer range for item tracking, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new AirTag will use Apple's second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, or equivalent technology. The chip debuted last year in the iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple said it offers up...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Apple TV 4K hero 221018 feature

Here is Everything New for the Apple TV in the tvOS 18.3 Update So Far

Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered. Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far. Robot Vacuum Support in Home App First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
iphone 17 pro concept render cameras

Major iPhone 17 Pro Redesign Backed by Supply Chain Info, Claims Leaker

Thursday December 12, 2024 4:36 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 Pro models will reportedly feature a major redesign, specifically centering around changes to the rear camera module, and now new supply chain information appears to confirm the striking change, according to a Chinese leaker. iPhone 17 Pro concept render Late last month, The Information's Wayne Ma claimed that the rear of the ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro...

Top Rated Comments

markfc Avatar
23 months ago
Middle out compression here we come! ?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kenny911 Avatar
23 months ago
Someone finally acquired Pied Piper
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vol Braakzakje Avatar
23 months ago
They should invest in AI to improve Siri instead of more compression...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bankshot Avatar
23 months ago
If this is prioritizing faces over other scene elements, it sounds like the primary application will be for FaceTime over very low bandwidth connections. Doesn't sound like anything that would be used for general compression of video files or for streaming like TV+.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WestonHarvey1 Avatar
23 months ago

Middle out compression here we come! ?
I hope it has a high D2F ratio
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Adoniram Avatar
23 months ago
Interesting… AI-based upscaling programs have come a long way (see: Topaz VEAI) and I use them with varied success.

If you could use a known compression algorithm, and train an upscaling (or decompression) algorithm based SOLELY on that known compression, I could see truly remarkable results. Platforms like YouTube would really benefit, especially if the decompression algorithm became a standardized part of various OSes or apps.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)