Apple acquired Israeli face recognition company

With rumours floating around of the iPhone 8’s possible specifications, you might have heard about the potential of using facial recognition to unlock your screen. Well, Apple’s latest acquisition might give a hint towards that.

Israeli websites Calcalist and Times of Israel reported that Apple recently acquired RealFace, Israeli startup specialising in facial recognition technology. The deal is estimated at several million dollars by Calcalist, or 2 million according to Times of Israel.

This marks the fourth Israeli company acquired by Apple. RealFace was founded by Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader in 2014. Based in Tel-Aviv, the company developed a facial recognition software for smart biometric login. Prioi to the acquisition, the startup raised $1 million and employs up to 10 people.

While the company’s website is currently offline; according to a database of Israeli tech companies Startup Nation Central, the company has sales in China, Israel, Europe, and the US.

RealFace was the creator of Pickeez app, and app with its recognition software automatically choosing the user’s best photos from every platform they’re on. With their technology, RealFace was aiming to make passwords redundant when accessing mobile devices or PCs.

Besides RealFace, Apple has acquired three other Israeli companies to date. In 2011 it bought flash memory maker Anobit for a reported $400 million. In November 2013 it acquired 3D sensor company PrimeSense for a reported $345 million, and in 2015 it bought LinX for an estimated 20 million.

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