Media reports indicate that Apple has acquired Datakalab, a startup specializing in artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies based in Paris, France.
According to the French business and finance magazine Challenges, Apple completed the acquisition process last December.
Datakalab describes itself as a specialist in developing “low-power and real-time efficient deep learning algorithms” that operate on devices. The company also develops computer vision technologies “known for their speed, cost-efficiency, and accuracy,” integrating them into devices.
Computer vision is a field in computer science focused on developing techniques to understand images and videos in a way similar to how humans perceive the world around them. The goal is to enable computers to “see” the content of images and videos like humans, understand their content deeply, and use them in various applications such as object detection, shape recognition, people identification in images, object tracking, robot control, model building, crowd analysis, and others.
The company had between 10 and 20 employees before Apple’s acquisition.
Datakalab collaborated with the French government in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to deploy artificial intelligence tools in Parisian transport systems to monitor people’s compliance with wearing protective masks. The company also worked with Disney and other partners.
Although the two companies have not officially announced the acquisition, local French media reports say that Apple informed the European Commission of the deal this month, and many of the company’s employees have also transitioned to Apple.
Apple regularly executes acquisition deals with startups, but does not officially announce them.
