Viewdle

Viewdle is a Ukrainian facial recognition company. Google was reportedly close to closing a deal to buy the company for between $30 and $45 million in October 2012.[1] In October 2012, Google bought Viewdle to improve Android's augmented reality and face recognition.[2] The company is an expert in the field of computer vision.

Viewdle's face and object recognition technologies has been widely used in search technology. In 2011, Google launched its image search based on this technology.

In 2014, Google closed the company, forcing Ukrainian programmers to move to the US office of Motorola Mobility.[3]

Founding

Viewdle was founded in 2006 by Yegor Anchishkin and Yuriy Musatenko, who saw a commercial success in the technology developed by the Kyiv Institute of Cybernetics in the field of image recognition. The investment was raised from the businessmen from the Ukrainian diaspora in the USA.[4]

In 2008, Anthem Venture Partners bought a 25% stake of the company's for $2 million. In October 2010, the second round of investment took place with Qualcomm Ventures, BlackBerry Partners Fund and Best Buy Capital which invested $10 million, valuing the company at $13.5 million.[5][6]

References
  1. Elinor Mills (1 October 2012). "Google buying face recognition firm Viewdle". CNET. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  2. "Googlerola buys Viewdle, ups Android's augmented reality and face recognition game". Engadget. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  3. "Компанию Viewdle закрыли. Разработчики переехали в американский офис Motorola Mobility". AIN.UA (in Russian). 2014-02-17. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  4. "Настоящая история Viewdle: как создавали один из самых известных украинских ИТ-проектов". AIN.UA (in Russian). 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  5. "Techsily Technology Portal".
  6. "Viewdle raises $10M for facial recognition "in the palm of your hand"". Reuters. 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
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