Acquisitions

Apple bought a firm that made a smart balloon platform for capturing impressive aerial imagery

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 21, 2017

The company best known for the iconic smartphone may be working on satellites, as per Bloomberg. This is cool, but here's something even cooler: back in 2015, Apple acquired a startup called Aether Industries LLC that specialized in “near-space technology.”

That's interesting because no one knew about this deal before Bloomberg's write-up today.

Among other technologies, Aether Industries developed high-altitude balloons used for capturing aerial images, anywhere on Earth, at up to ten times the resolution of the highest-resolution commercial mapping satellite in orbit today.

Apple acquires powerful automation app Workflow

Cody Lee ∙ March 22, 2017

Apple has acquired the powerful automation app Workflow, reports TechCrunch. The outlet received a statement from the developers, as well as Apple, confirming the deal, but the financial details are not yet known.

For those who aren't familiar with the app, Workflow is similar to the popular IFTTT service in that it allows you to create custom recipes to perform complex tasks. The app was designed by former jailbreak developers.

Apple reportedly buys Israeli facial recognition company RealFace

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 23, 2017

Hot on the heels of multiple reports calling for some sort of facial recognition on iPhone 8 to potentially augment or supplant Touch ID, news reaches us that Apple has acquired RealFace, a machine learning and facial recognition company hailing from Israel.

The Tel Aviv-based startup, founded in 2014 by Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader, was bought for $2 million, according to the Times of Israel. Hebrew-language financial outlet Calcalist pegged the deal's value at several millions dollars. RealFace is innovating user authentication with what it calls the worlds leading facial recognition technology.

Spotify has gone cold on rumored SoundCloud deal

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Spotify, the world's top on-demand music service, is not buying Berlin, Germany-headquartered audio distribution platform SoundCloud after all, TechCrunch has learned.

Spotify has reportedly given up on its latest effort to buy SoundCloud realizing, after months of talks, that any such deal would probably negatively impact its impending initial public offering (IPO) and expected expansions in China, Russia and South Korea.

Samsung to buy Harman for $8 billion

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2016

Galaxy maker Samsung today announced it is purchasing Harman International for $112.00 per share in cash in a deal valued at approximately $8 billion. If the deal goes through, it'll be Samsung's largest acquisition to date. With the purchase of Harman Samsung is essentially buying a competitive advantage as it looks to take on Apple's rumored Project Titan and the CarPlay platform, Android Auto and other automotive systems.

Apple acquires talent and technology from bankrupt music startup Omnifone

Cody Lee ∙ November 7, 2016

Apple has acquired talent and technology from defunct streaming music startup Omnifone, reports TechCrunch. It's not a full buyout, so you're not going to see the usual "Apple buys smaller companies from time to time" statement, but the outlet says it's hired at least 16 of their employees and purchased select technology.

AT&T announces buying Time Warner as it looks to compete nationwide with cable companies

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2016

Following reports that AT&T, the nation's second-largest wireless carrier, held talks regarding a possible acquisition of Time Warner, AT&T has now formally confirmed that it will be purchasing the entertainment conglomerate in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $107.50 per share. The purchase price implies a total equity value of $85.4 billion and a total transaction value of $108.7 billion.

The agreement has been approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both companies. It gives AT&T access to Time Warner's precious media properties like CNN, HBO, TNT and Warner Bros, as well as films like Harry Potter, Batman, Superman and next-generation super hero movies being developed by DC Comics.

The blockbuster merger, pending regulatory approval and closing before year-end 2017, will create a unique company that'll “define the future of media and communications”.

AT&T to buy Time Warner for a reported $80 billion

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2016

U.S. wireless carrier is buying media entertainment conglomerate Time Warner for a reported $80 billion as consolidation continues in media and technology industries. AT&T has reportedly agreed to pay $107.50 a share in a half-cash, half-stock deal, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Time Warner, which does not have a controlling shareholder, reported $28 billion in 2015 revenue.

The media giant had a market capitalization of $68 billion before rumors of a possible takeover bid. AT&T currently has a market capitalization of more than $230 billion.

Apple recently approached Time Warner about takeover bid, now “monitoring” AT&T talks

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 21, 2016

AT&T, the second-largest carrier in the United States, is in advanced talks with media giant Time Warner about a possible merger and Apple “is now monitoring the situation”, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. The Cupertino-based gadget maker was first mentioned as a possible suitor for a Time Warner takeover back in January of this year.

According to WSJ, Apple a few months ago approached Time Warner “about pursuing a combination”, but the discussions didn’t progress “beyond a preliminary stage.”

Samsung buying Viv, the AI assistant developed by Siri creators

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Samsung has agreed to acquire Viv, the next-gen AI assistant that was developed by Siri co-founders Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer. TechCrunch reports that it will continue to operate as an independent company, providing services to Samsung and its platforms.

Viv made numerous headlines earlier this year, when the team demonstrated the power of its assistant. In one scenario, it was able to successfully order a pizza over the Internet customized with toppings from several employees with a few simple voice commands.

Spotify said to be in advanced talks to buy SoundCloud

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire SoundCloud, reports the Financial Times. The streaming music service believes the buyout could help it better compete with competitors like Apple Music thanks to its large library of exclusive and user-created content.

Apple buys machine learning startup Tuplejump

Cody Lee ∙ September 22, 2016

Apple has acquired an India/US-based machine learning startup known as Tuplejump, reports TechCrunch. The company has essentially confirmed the buyout, offering up its typical "Apple buys smaller technology companies" statement.

This is the iPhone-maker's third publicly-known purchase of a machine learning company within the last year. Remember it bought out artificial intelligence startup Perceptio at the end of last year, and Seattle-based Turi a few months ago.