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Tech firm pioneering ‘computer vision’ for driverless cars snapped up by chipmaker ARM

Apical, the ‘computer vision’ tech firm, have been acquired by global chip manufacturer ARM in a deal worth $350m (approx. £242m) it has been announced.

The agreement will see the London-headquartered business, who were founded in 2002, absorbed into ARM as it looks to grow into what it dubs ‘emerging markets’, such as smart cities, driverless cars and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Such a massive nine-figure sum is a big show of faith in Apical, who were deemed one of the UK’s fastest growing technology companies by The Times last year, and whose advanced imaging technology is already utilised in over 1.5bn smartphones and 300m other consumer devices.

Currently focused on its Spirit, Assertive Display and Assertive Camera products, the firm’s ‘computer vision’ innovations currently stretch to rather more mundane tasks such as adaptive lighting on smartphone screens and camera settings.

However, the future potential for the technology is massive, particularly in allowing driverless cars to ‘see’ and interpret their environment.

Simon Segars, Chief Executive Officer at ARM, explained how computer vision ‘is in the early stages of development’ but predicts that soon there will be a ‘world of devices’ powered by the ‘exciting technology’.

He added: “Apical is at the forefront of embedded computer vision technology, building on its leadership in imaging products that already enable intelligent devices to deliver amazing new user experiences.

“The ARM partnership is solving the technical challenges of next generation products such as driverless cars and sophisticated security systems. These solutions rely on the creation of dedicated image computing solutions and Apical’s technologies will play a crucial role in their delivery.”

Michael Tusch, founder of Apical, is hopeful that the acquisition by ARM will put the firm at the forefront of the ‘visual computing’ boom, and allow it to build on its current product line.

He said: “The products developed by Apical already enable cameras to understand their environment and to act on the most relevant information by employing intelligent processing.

“These technologies will advance as part of ARM, driving value for its partners as they push deeper into markets where visual computing will deliver a transformation in device capabilities and the way humans interact with machines.”

Apical currently employ over 100 people, with their head office on Regent Street and a major research and development base in Loughborough.