Amber Neely
WaveOne, a California-based startup that has been developing algorithms for compressing videos, has confirmed that it has been purchased by Apple.
Founded in 2016, WaveOne sought to use machine learning for video compression. By employing artificial intelligence, WaveOne could create "content-aware" video compression and decompression that prioritized faces and text, and deprioritized background information like grass or trees.
It also claimed that its methods were hardware-agnostic. The company claims that the technology can reduce the size of video files by up to half while still retaining quality in complex scenes.
As noted by TechCrunch, Bob Stankosh, WaveOne's former head of sales and business development announced the deal on LinkedIn in February.
"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," Stankosh wrote. "Apple saw this potential and took the opportunity to add it to their technology portfolio."
Apple has not confirmed the acquisition. The terms of the deal are currently unknown.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
5 Comments
Do we really need more compression codecs? Aren't there enough to contend with already? How many do operating systems support them right now?
They might use this for upcoming VR headset.