In a bid to boost its prospects in AI (artificial intelligence) technology giant, Apple has has acquired an Israel-based startup, RealFace, that develops deep-learning-based face authentication technology.
The report was cited on Israeli site Calcalist which claimed that the company will pay millions of dollars for acquiring the startup and develop technology that replaces passwords with facial recognition.
According to several media reports, the acquisition may lead the company to develop an app or a feature, but it’s unlikely to be included in the upcoming iPhone. The iPhone8 (rumored) is likely to be launched in fall this year, and is speculated to have have a new glass design and wireless charging, among other features.
Founded in 2014 by Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader, RealFace’s software enables authentication, automated on-boarding and mobile conversion optimization using deep learning methods, focusing on a frictionless user experience.
The company claims that its technology provides users with the highest level of authentication and security available on all platforms. RealFace also claims to have a proprietary IP in the field of frictionless face recognition and effective learnings from facial features. It provides smart biometric login that aims to make passwords redundant by verifying users on mobile and PC.
According to Startup Nation Central the startup has also rolled out an application called Pickeez which employs the RealFace recognition software to automatically choose the best photos from every platform in which the user’s photos are stored. It has also raised $1 million in seed funding in its R&D stage, before Apple acquired the company.
Interestingly, this is not the only AI powered facial-recognition startup Apple has acquired. January last year the iPhone maker bought Emotient for an undisclosed amount. Emotient was a facial-recognition company backed by machine learning, that cloud read human emotions.