Google to acquire image-recognition startup Moodstocks

Google announced a deal to buy image-recognition startup Moodstocks. Created in 2009, the French startup first introduced on-device image recognition in 2012, enabling smartphones to recognize whatever their camera sees.

By Julien Happich, EETimes, Jul. 06, 2016 – 

For the past 2.5 years, the small team of researchers and engineers has leveraged deep learning to extend the reach of their object recognition algorithms, licensing machine-readable executable object code and providing a software development kit for OEMs to embed the code into their products. More notably, Moodstocks' API enables users to integrate visual search into their applications, analysing the images' correspondence in terms of colour, shape, and texture.

The acquisition is expected to be completed within the next few weeks, for an undisclosed amount.
The small team of researchers and engineers will join a Google research and development centre in Paris where it will contribute to Google's artificial intelligence efforts. It will focus on building image recognition tools within Google.

The startup says on its webpage that following this acquisition by Google, it will be discontinuing its image recognition services under the Moodstocks name, hoping to come up with improved tools under the Google brand.

Current licensees will be able to use the software until the end of their service subscription.

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