Apple Acquisition

Apple acquired Canada-based company DarwinAI earlier this year to build out its AI team, reports Bloomberg. DarwinAI created AI technology for inspecting components during the manufacturing process, and it also had a focus on making smaller and more efficient AI systems. DarwinAI's website and social media accounts have been taken offline following Apple's purchase. Dozens of former DarwinAI ...

Just a day after Apple debuted its Vision Pro headset, The Verge reports that Apple has acquired AR headset startup Mira, a firm most known to the public for providing some of the lens technology found in headsets used on Mario Kart rides in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood. The Verge says Mira CEO Ben Taft shared a private photo on Instagram...

Apple has acquired Credit Kudos, a UK open banking startup that seeks to help lenders make better decisions (via The Block). Credit Kudos offers insights and scores based on loan applications drawn from transaction and loan outcome banking data, sourced by the UK's open banking framework. The company's API offers lenders a way to get faster, automated decision-making about loans with reduced ...

Apple has acquired AI Music, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to generate personalized soundtracks and adaptive music, reports Bloomberg. AI Music developed an "Infinite Music Engine" meant to create bespoke audio solutions for marketers, publishers, fitness professionals, and creative agencies. The technology is able to generate dynamic soundtracks that change based on user...

Apple today announced that it has acquired classical music streaming service Primephonic, and will be folding it into Apple Music. Primephonic offers an "outstanding listening experience" with search and browse functionality optimized for classical audio, plus handpicked recommendations and "contextual details on repertoire and recordings.""We love and have a deep respect for classical...

Apple is the leading buyer of companies in the global artificial intelligence space, according to data shared today by GlobalData. From 2016 to 2020, Apple acquired the highest number of AI companies, beating out Accenture, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, all of whom also had a high number of AI acquisitions. Over the course of the last several years, Apple has bought companies like...

Vancouver-based app startup, Buddybuild, will officially shut down in the fall of this year following Apple's acquisition of the company in 2018. In an email sent to existing customers, Buddybuild says that services will no longer be supported as of March 31, 2021, and updates ceased. By the fall, the company will shut down operations altogether. In the run-up to the closure, Buddybuild is...

Apple earlier this year acquired artificial intelligence startup Vilynx with the aim of improving the Siri voice assistant built into Apple devices, reports Bloomberg. The Vilynx website is now defunct, but the company described itself as "AI for media," and it developed tools to help media companies compete against Netflix and other major media giants. Vilynx had a tool that catalogued raw...

In order to continue improving its Podcast offerings experience, Apple earlier this year purchased podcast app Scout FM, reports Bloomberg. The website for Scout FM is now defunct, but it was available on iPhones, Android devices, and Amazon smart speakers. Scout FM generated podcast stations covering various topics, similar to a radio station but for a podcast experience. A person could...

Apple has purchased VR startup Spaces, according to a report from Protocol. Spaces last week announced on its website that it was shutting down its existing product. The update said that it was "heading in a new direction," with no additional information provided. Protocol has been told that Apple purchased the startup, but neither Apple nor Spaces confirmed the acquisition. From the website:...

Apple quietly acquired Israeli photography startup Camerai around a year and a half ago for several tens of millions of dollars, with many of its employees joining Apple's computer vision team in Israel, according to Calcalist. A separate source confirmed the story to TechCrunch, but Apple has yet to offer an official statement. The report claims that Camerai developed photography-related...

Apple has purchased payments startup Mobeewave, which created a system that lets shoppers tap a credit card or smartphone on another phone to process a payment. The functionality could allow iPhones to be used as payment terminals with no additional hardware required. According to Bloomberg, Apple purchased the startup for approximately $100 million. Mobeewave's technology works with NFC,...

Enterprise security software Fleetsmith is now part of Apple. Fleetsmith is a suite of management and security services that allows users to oversee a fleet of Apple products, automatically managing apps, settings, and security preferences while implementing best practices for IT and security. Fleetsmith has always been focused on Apple products, and now Apple has purchased the company....

Apple has bought Inductiv Inc., a Canada-based machine learning startup, to work on Siri, machine learning and data science, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The engineering team from Waterloo, Ontario-based Inductiv joined Apple in recent weeks to work on Siri, machine learning and data science. Apple confirmed the deal, saying it "buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we...

Apple recently purchased Ontario-based machine learning startup Inductiv for the purpose of improving Siri, reports Bloomberg. Apple confirmed the purchase with one of its typical acquisition statements: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." Inductiv's engineering team joined Apple after the acquisition to work on ‌...

Apple has acquired California-based virtual reality company NextVR, Apple confirmed to Bloomberg today. New's of Apple's planned NEXTVR acquisition first surfaced in April, but it appears the purchase wasn't completed until recently. Apple reportedly spent around $100 million to purchase the company. The NextVR website has disappeared, and there is a message that says the company is...

Apple is planning to acquire California-based virtual reality company NextVR in a deal said to be worth $100 million, 9to5Mac reported over the weekend. NextVR is a company that melds virtual reality with sports, music, and entertainment, offering VR experiences for watching live events on VR headsets from PlayStation, HTC, Oculus, Google, Microsoft, and other manufacturers. NextVR has...

Apple has purchased artificial intelligence startup Voysis with the aim of improving Siri, reports Bloomberg. Voysis offers a platform that allows digital voice assistants to better understand natural language. The company worked to improve voice assistants in online shopping apps, allowing software to better interpret requests from users. The website, which is now defunct, said that the...

Apple has acquired weather app Dark Sky, Dark Sky's developers announced today. Dark Sky is one of the most popular weather apps on the App Store, known for its accuracy and storm warnings. Our goal has always been to provide the world with the best weather information possible, to help as many people as we can stay dry and safe, and to do so in a way that respects your privacy. There is no ...

Apple has purchased Seattle startup Xnor.ai, a company that specializes in on-device artificial intelligence, reports GeekWire, citing sources with knowledge of the acquisition. Apple is said to have paid around $200 million for Xnor.ai, and while both Apple and Xnor.ai have declined to comment on the potential acquisition, much of the Xnor.ai website has been taken offline and GeekWire says...