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Apple Buys AI Startup That Can Read Facial Expressions, Emotient

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emoby Angela Guess

Rolfe Winkler, Daisuke Wakabayashi, and Elizabeth Dwoskin report for the Wall Street Journal, “Apple Inc. has purchased Emotient Inc., a startup that uses artificial-intelligence technology to read people’s emotions by analyzing facial expressions. It isn’t clear what Apple plans to do with Emotient’s technology, which was primarily sold to advertisers to help assess viewer reactions to their ads. Doctors also have tested it to interpret signs of pain among patients unable to express themselves, and a retailer used it to monitor shoppers’ facial expressions in store aisles, the company had said. Improving image recognition is a hot topic in Silicon Valley, where Apple rivals Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and others are investing heavily in artificial-intelligence techniques.”

The article continues, “An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the purchase with the company’s standard statement after an acquisition, saying Apple “buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” She declined to elaborate on the deal terms. Emotient, based in San Diego, had previously raised $8 million from investors including Intel Capital. The company had been seeking a new round of venture-capital financing, but wasn’t able to secure it on favorable terms according to a person familiar with the matter. Emotient Chief Executive Ken Denman declined to comment.”

Read more here.

photo credit: Emotient

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