Google has acquired Paris based Moodstocks that makes image recognition technology for smartphones. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Moodstock is developing new algorithms for visual recognition and machine learning, and an image recognition technology and objects on mobile devices. The Moodstock team will join Google at its R&D center in Paris. Google is expected to integrate the image search team in artificial intelligence efforts.
According to Moodstock’s website it had introduced on-device image recognition in 2012 and has been working on extending its reach to object recognition for the past 2.5 years using deep learning based approaches. Moodstock said that it will soon discontinue its image recognition service but current paying customers will be able to use it until the end of their subscription.
Google said in a blog (in French) post,
We have made great strides in terms of visual recognition: now you can search in Google Pictures such as “party” or “beach” and the application will offer you good pictures without you n ‘ have never needed to categorize them manually. But there is still much to do in this area.
Google’s acquisition comes only two weeks after Twitter acquired Magic Pony.