Saturday, January 9, 2016

Apple Spends Mountain of Cash for New Tech for Navigation, Map and User Interface

5 Companies Apple Could Buy Outright (AAPL)
Apple's Acquisitions Tripled in Fiscal 2013 - Businessweek
Apple's $200B war chest ramps up acquisition talk

Sitting on $200 billion in cash and eager to fill gaps in its product line, Apple (AAPL) may find it irresistible not to snap up a company or two, say analysts, mindful of Apple's war chest and growing concerns that iPhone growth could taper next year. Those concerns have helped drive Apple's stock down nearly 6% this month.
There are plenty of candidates, says Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital. He foresees a "Christmas M&A list" that includes GoPro, Box, Adobe and Tesla Motors.


Some recent acquisitions:

Maps and Navigation

  • Precise Navigation Apple Acquires GPS Startup Coherent Navigation The Coherent Navigation service uses the Iridium satellite network, making the company's acquisition an intriguing technology for Apple. Apple reportedly acquired Coherent Navigation, a Silicon Valley startup that has been using the Iridium satellite network to develop a commercial, high-precision navigation service for a wide range of industries. Apple confirmed the acquisition, according to a May 17 article in The New York Times, but as is the tech giant's custom, the company did not comment further on the purchase beyond saying that it "buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plan."- Rationale For Apple's Coherent Navigation Acquisition Extends Beyond Just Maps - Forbes  The higher-accuracy GPS data provided by Coherent’s technology could potentially aid the navigation feature on Apple Maps, particularly in areas with a higher road density or on complicated routes. The technology could also be valuable for Apple’s new and rumored products. For instance, the Apple Watch – which utilizes GPS data from the iPhone for its fitness tracking capacities – could benefit from more precise location data to estimate the distance moved by a user more accurately. Apple is also reportedly very interested in the automotive space, with rumors of an Apple-branded electric car making the rounds (related: Thoughts On An Apple Car). These advanced GPS technologies might prove useful for potential projects such as self-driving cars or related automotive systems. 
  • Mapping Visualization - In September 2015, Apple reportedly acquired Mapsense, a mapping visualization startup, for $25 million to $30 million to bolster its mapping assets as it continues to develop better map tools in iOS 9 and other Apple products, according to another eWEEK report. Mapsense works to help customers create data-driven maps for a wide range of business uses, while also offering mapping visualization tools and services to developers and enterprises. Apple has been struggling with mobile mapping services in the last several years, especially compared with Google Maps and its offerings.

User Interface

  • Facial Analysis - Apple Acquires Emotient Artificial-Intelligence Startup Emotient's technology analyzes facial expressions to detect people's emotions and sentiments to help companies understand their customers. Apple has acquired emotion-detection startup Emotient as the company continues to invest in businesses in a wide range of niches to add to Apple's features and technologies. The Emotient purchase, which Apple made quietly without announcing its terms or sale price, was reported Jan. 7 in The Wall Street Journal. Emotient provides data about customer attention, engagement and sentiment by analyzing a user's facial expressions and detecting their feelings with its cloud-based services, according to the company's Website. "The company is at the vanguard of a new wave of emotion analysis that will lead to a quantum leap in customer understanding and emotion-aware computing," the site states.
  • Facial Expression - In November 2015, Apple confirmed that it had acquired motion-capture technology startup Faceshift, which builds applications that capture human facial expressions as animated avatars or characters. Faceshift's motion-capturing technology has been used in the making of earlier Star Wars movies. In addition, Faceshift has also worked with Intel and Pepsi on previous marketing campaigns that used the company's motion-capture technology.
  • AI for Photos - In October 2015, Apple bought Perceptio, an artificial intelligence startup that works on ideas that could be integrated into future iPhones. Perceptio's technology helps smartphone owners more easily organize and store photos on their iPhones, making them easier to find and use. The price of the acquisition and terms of the deal were not announced. 

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