The Cupertino tech giant Apple typically buys smaller companies from time to time specifically for talent or technologies quietly. So far, the company has acquired more than 30 startups!
In the latest report, news got leaked that Apple, somewhere between 2018 to 2019, acquired Israeli AR and computer vision company Camerai. The Israeli startup is a cross-platform graphical engine with the first AR Studio for developers willing to deliver revolutionary user experiences. This news was reported by Israeli newspaper Calcalist.Â
Camerai (previously called Tipit) was sold for tens of millions of dollars, reported the newspaper company. The Tel-Aviv-based company was founded by Aaron Wetzler, Erez Tal, Gil Hadas, Jonathan Rimon, and Moty Kosharovsky in 2014. The company raised around $5 million (approx €4.2 million) in total.
Furthermore, Calcalist reported that the startup’s employees joined Apple’s computer vision team in Herzliya and Camerai’s technology has been integrated into Apple products already. “Camerai’s platform allowed app and software developers to create augmented reality and image processing graphics without the need for technical knowledge or writing code.”
Right now, Apple currently operates a major development centre in Israel as a result of numerous acquisitions and intense hiring. It is headed by Rony Friedman, with 1500 employees in offices in Herzliya and Haifa. Apple is currently working on its ambitious AR glasses that have been on speculations for years now. According to the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the first iteration of Apple’s AR headset could arrive in 2022 at the earliest.
Apple AR headsets are expected to feature a high-res display and likely to be reliant on iPhone for processing power considering it’s sleek built. On the software front, the headsets are expected to be shipped with realityOS (rOS).
Main image credits: Laura Hutton / Shutterstock
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