You may soon be able to create great photos with your next iPhone, with Apple’s acquisition of a U.K. startup
Apple has quietly acquired Spectral Edge, a UK-based AI startup and developer of technology that improves smartphone pictures for undisclosed terms, according to a report from Bloomberg. Apple was predictably quiet about the acquisition and the startup’s website is wiped clean with no content after the news of the acquisition.
According to public filings made public in the U.K. on Thursday, Apple now has control of the company. Apple corporate lawyer Peter Denwood, was recently named a director of Cambridge, U.K.-based Spectral Edge, while the startup’s other advisers and board members were terminated.
With full control of the company, the tech giant now has all it needs to integrate Spectral Edge’s technology, which blend an infrared shot with a standard photo to improve clarity and the accuracy of colors. Spectral Edge uses machine learning to take wrangling infrared camera shots and mix them with standard camera phots, then letting machine learning tech figure out how to turn that blend into crisp pics with accurate colors.
The acquisition may also be strategic. According to a public profile of the startup Spectral Edge has a proprietary technology that combines patented Image Fusion tech with Deep Learning to reveal more of the color, detail and clarity in any image. Spectral Edge was founded in 2011 by Robert Swann. According to public records, the startup has raised more than $5 million in funding since inception.