APPS
APPS
APPS
Google acquires artificial intelligence and selfie app startup AIMatter
Google Inc. today confirmed it has acquired AIMatter OOO, a Belarus startup that makes Fabby, an app that uses artificial intelligence to provide photo editing of selfie photos.
Not a huge amount is known about the company. It seemingly has only a Facebook page, but TechCrunch reported that alongside the Fabby app, the company has also developed a neural network-based AI platform and software development kit to detect and process images quickly on mobile devices. That, or at least the talent behind it, may have been Google’s primary interest.
According to the app’s Apple App Store listing, the app allows users to “get a new look for your selfie each time you tap through a collection of more than 2 billion designer styles” by allowing users to “select from hundreds of masks, backgrounds, makeup designs, and other creative effects.” The AI is said to be used to recognize “different parts of your selfies and intelligently applies hairstyle & makeover effects” as well as applying “digital beautification” features.
By the numbers, the app seems to have been moderately successful. The Android Play store listing says it has been downloaded between 100,000 to 500,000 times. TechCrunch noted that the company claims to have seen total downloads of 2 million, meaning it would be far more popular among iOS users. It didn’t launch the Android app until around March.
Besides perhaps continuing to offer the selfie app going forward, how Google could use the technology is pure speculation at this stage. Google may include some of the technology in future versions of Android, such as with its Android camera application, or it could have use for the technology in its burgeoning efforts in both augmented and virtual reality.
It’s not clear how much funding AIMatter had raised coming into the acquisition, but the company did raise $2 million in a round led by Haxus Venture Fund in January. That’s the same fund that was also the lead investor in MSQRD, another Belarus startup that also offered a selfie filters app acquired by Facebook Inc. in March 2016.
Image: AIMatter
A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:
Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities.
- 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more
- 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network.
About SiliconANGLE Media
SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation, uniting breakthrough technology, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI.
Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.
