Acquisition

Google secretly buys technology for streaming smartphone apps without downloading

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 19, 2015

Late last year, the Internet giant Google stealthily snapped up a startup called Agawi whose technology let people stream an app to a phone without the need to actually download and install it first.

The deal went under the radar until yesterday, when it was reported by The Information's Amir Efrati. Agawi's tech can stream Android apps and Windows PC games to connected TVs, as well as iOS and Android devices.

While it's unclear whether Google plans to bake app streaming into Android, the acquisition signals a potential new direction for mobile software deployment.

Wunderlist gets acquired by Microsoft

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 2, 2015

6Wunderkinder GmbH, the makers of Wunderlist, the popular to-do, list and tasks application for the Mac, iOS, Apple Watch and other platforms, confirmed today it's being acquired by software giant Microsoft.

With more than thirteen million users across platforms and more than one billion to-dos created in Wunderlist, the app should seamlessly fit in Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's mobile first, cloud first vision.

But don't fret, mobile Wunderlist apps aren't going anywhere, at least for the time being. “As Wunderlist becomes a part of the Microsoft family, we’ll introduce a host of new features, keep adding partner integrations, and progress further in delivering Wunderlist to billions of people,” Christian Reber, 6Wunderkinder founder and CEO said Tuesday.

Apple acquires augmented reality firm Metaio

Cody Lee ∙ May 28, 2015

Apple has acquired augmented reality startup Metaio, according to a recently surfaced legal document. A spokesperson for Apple confirmed the purchase to TechCrunch, saying "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

The filing claims that shares of Metaio were transferred over to the Cupertino firm between May 21st and 22nd, so it seems the acquisition was completed fairly recently. The company, which was essentially an offshoot of an AR project at German automaker Volkswagen, was founded in 2003.

Apple acquires GPS firm Coherent Navigation

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Apple appears to have quietly acquired San Francisco-based GPS firm Coherent Navigation, MacRumors reported on Sunday. Several of the company's employees, including the CEO and co-founders, all started working for the iPhone-maker in recent months, and its domain servers were recently updated to point to Apple.

Among Coherent's technology is something called High Integrity GPS, which offers greater accuracy and precision and higher signal integrity versus standard GPS. It accomplishes this by combining signals from both mid-earth orbiting GPS satellites low-earth satellites used by data provider Iridium for voice and data.

Verizon announces buying AOL for $4.4 billion

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 12, 2015

Verizon Communications, an American broadband and telecommunications company and the largest U.S. wireless communications service provider, announced Tuesday that it is buying New York City based AOL, previously known as America Online, for $50 per share in a transaction valued approximately at $4.4 billion.

The deal is believed to reinforce Verizon's desire to enter the mobile video and advertising business, while giving them access to technology AOL has developed for selling ads and delivering high-quality web video.

Apple buys Israeli camera technology company LinX Imaging

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

In a bid to potentially boost its mobile imaging prowess, Apple has purchased an Israeli camera technology company called LinX Imaging for a reported $20 million, according to a Dow Jones report cited in a tweet by CNBC and later confirmed by Apple.

LinX, which builds miniature multi-aperture cameras designed for mobile devices, could help improve imaging features of future iPhones.

And because its technology is also used in tablets and so-called ultrabooks (ultra-thin notebooks akin to Apple's MacBook Air), there's a reasonable likelihood that we may see significantly improved cameras come to Apple's Mac computers and iPad tablet lineup.

Apple quietly purchased Dryft keyboard app last year

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

Apple quietly purchased Dryft, a startup that develops keyboard apps, according to a new report from TechCrunch. The site says that the acquisition happened sometime last year, but the financial terms of the deal are still not known.

Dryft, who TechCrunch notes was a finalist in its 2013 Disrupt startup battlefield competition, gained notoriety for its custom mobile keyboard that would only appear when the user placed their fingers on their device's display.

Apple reportedly acquired search startup Ottocat in 2013 to improve App Store discovery

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 12, 2018

Apple has quietly acquired Ottocat, reports TechCrunch, a little-known startup with some interesting search tech. The deal went down a few years ago—sometime in 2013—but its impact is still being felt today. The site believes the company's tech is behind the App Store's fairly new 'Explore' section.

There's little evidence of the acquisition, except for a patent granted to Apple that lists Ottocat co-founder Edwin Cooper as an inventor. The patent is titled "System and Method for Divisive Textual Clustering by Label Selection Using Variant-Weighted TFIDF," and clearly incorporates Ottocat's tech.

Apple also bought UK data analytics company Acunu

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 26, 2015

Bloomberg is shedding more light on Apple's recent acquisition of database firm FoundationDB, with a report Thursday revealing that the iPhone maker had secretly snapped up U.K.-based data analytics company Acunu, presumably to help bolster its iCloud and web services.

The transaction for an undisclosed sum occurred in late 2013. Together, the Acunu and FoundationDB acquisitions inject some fresh blood into Apple to help bulk up the company's data and cloud-computing capabilities.

Apple acquires database company FoundationDB to bolster web services

Jake Smith ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

As it looks to build out its web services, Apple has acquired FoundationDB, a company that specializes in speedy, durable NoSQL databases, Apple essentially confirmed to iDownloadBlog after TechCrunch first reported the news.

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” the company said in a boiler plate statement it gives when it acquires smaller companies.

Apple reportedly buys music plug-in and effect maker Camel Audio

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Apple appears to have acquired London-based maker of audio plug-ins and effects, Camel Audio, signaling its intent to bolster its own professional audio software such as Logic Pro X and the consumer-focused music making app GarageBand.

As noted by MacRumors, the revelation came indirectly via a change in the company's listing on the UK government’s Companies House website.

Samsung buys rumored Apple Car battery partner Magna International

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2015

The Apple Car rumor just took a more interesting twist with news that Samsung is acquiring Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Samsung SDI, the South Korean firm's material and energy solution providing arm, itself confirmed the acquisition in a media release Monday, saying it was acquiring Magna International’s battery pack unit.

Magna, which has its headquarters in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, sells its vehicle battery technology to Tesla and other car makers and has recently been linked to Apple's secret electric car project.