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Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google, collectively referred to as FAANG, are some of the most powerful, valuable, and influential companies in the world and as institutions question FAANG's role in our daily lives, the types of AI companies these giants are acquiring, the sectors those acquired AI startups operate in, and the pace of those FAANG acquisitions can give us some insight into tech giants' goals, bets, and hedges. Among these tech giants, only Netflix hasn't made any acquisitions yet. Here are the top 10 AI companies acquired by this FAANG within 2022.
Facebook acquired a new startup called Vidpresso in 2018, which offers clients access to a technology that allows them to display polls, comments, and other elements from Facebook, Twitter, Periscope, and other social networks on the screen. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that it has acquired its seven-person team and its innovative technology, but not the company itself. Vidpresso's employees will apparently join Facebook's offices in Menlo Park, London, and LA while continuing to provide clients like BuzzFeed and Nasdaq access to their services. It's not clear if Facebook will eventually cut off those companies' access to Vidpresso's tech, but the team said in their announcement that joining the social network will allow them to offer their tools to more people than just their A-list publishing partners.
In 2019, Amazon bought smart doorbell company Ring for a whopping $1 billion. Siminoff has met personally with the world's richest man, Amazon founder, and CEO Jeff Bezos, and while he admits his interaction with Bezos has been limited, he says he's learned a lot and been impressed by the famous entrepreneur. He said in a report "I think the most impressive thing…[is that he's] a very real person who also you can tell has this insatiable appetite for invention and learning and seeing what's out there and doing that, and is very curious."
Apple has acquired a startup focused on making lenses for augmented reality glasses, the company confirmed on Wednesday, a signal Apple has ambitions to make a wearable device that would superimpose digital information on the real world. Apple confirmed the acquisition of Colorado-based Akonia Holographics by saying that "Apple buys smaller companies from time to time, and we generally don't discuss our purpose or plans."
Google has picked up Cask Data, a Palo Alto startup that specializes in building solutions to run big data analytics services based on Hadoop. The Cask Data news was quietly made public by the co-founders of the startup, Jonathan Gray and Nitin Motgi, in a blog post on May 14, 2018, which also confirmed that the company would continue supporting existing customers and products.
Facebook announced in 2018 that the London-based team at Bloomsbury AI will be joining the company. Facebook reported that Bloomsbury AI's expertise will strengthen Facebook's efforts in natural language processing research, and help it further understand natural language and its applications, but it certainly seems possible that those applications could include detecting misinformation and other problematic content.
Facebook announced that it has acquired Redkix, a startup that provides tools to communicate more effectively by combining email with a more formal collaboration tool. The companies did not reveal the acquisition price. Redkix burst out of the gate two years ago with a $17 million seed round, a hefty seed amount by any measure. What prompted this kind of investment was a tool that combined a collaboration tool like Slack or Workplace by Facebook with email. People could collaborate in Redkix itself, or if you weren't a registered user, you could still participate by email, providing a more seamless way to work together. Experts think that Redkix is a great solution for bridging the worlds between traditional email messaging and more modern conversational messaging.
Google has acquired GIF platform Tenor, adding a library of animated images to its vast internet search engine. Google has reported that it is purchasing Tenor for an undisclosed amount and plans to integrate GIFs into Google Images and Gboard, the company's virtual keyboard. GIFs have gained popularity on Android and iOS as well as on desktops. Tenor had more than 300 million users as of last year and topped 12 billion monthly search requests in February. The company also has a growing advertising business, creating sponsored GIFs for companies like Dunkin' Donuts, Nissan, and AT&T. Tenor previously raised over $30 million in venture funding. Google said it plans to keep Tenor as a separate unit.
Amazon announced an acquisition that underscores how it also hopes to have a more direct and commercial role in the world of healthcare in the coming years. The company has purchased PillPack, an online pharmacy that lets users buy medications in pre-made doses. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed by Amazon, but sources close to the deal say it was for just under $1 billion.
Apple has bought parts of European chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor in an effort to bring more of its silicon design in-house. The deal includes $300 million in cash to license some of Dialog's power management technologies, hire 300 engineers, and take control of some assets. A further $300 million is being committed for products from Dialog over the next three years. This can be called Apple's biggest acquisition ever when it comes to headcount.
Facebook has confirmed to acquire Confirm.io. This startup offered an API that let other companies quickly verify someone's government-issued identification card, like a driver's license, was authentic. The Boston-based startup will shut down as both its team and technology are rolled into Facebook, where it could help users who are locked out of their accounts. The startup had raised at least $4 million from investors, including Cava Capital, since launching three years ago. The 2015 seed round funded advanced forensics used to pull information from an ID card, as well as mobile biometrics and facial recognition to confirm a person's identity before the startup deleted the personal data.
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