Apple continues to snap up small companies to continue to differentiate its iPhone user experience. The latest reported purchase is AlgoTrim of Sweden, which has designed codecs and compression algorithms and is particularly skilled in optimizing a mobile device’s memory handling.
The firm’s algorithms help to improve memory handling and execution performance for imaging and video, extending battery life for multimedia devices like smartphones. Prior to the reported Apple deal, many of AlgoTrim’s efforts have focused on Android. Its imaging codecs are used in Google Gallery and its technology is used to compress firmware updates in some Android products. It also has image codecs for JPEG, PNG, GIF and BMP files in addition to imaging solutions for “modern computational photography”.
The deal actually took place in February, according to ZDnet, when it was reported in Sweden that AlgoTrim had been acquired by Delaware holding company Wedgewood Industries, but the purchaser was in fact Apple. The iDevice maker has not confirmed the deal officially, just saying in a statement to ZDnet: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
AlgoTrim was founded in 2005 and one of its three co-founders, Anders Holtsberg, has confirmed he now works for Apple and has moved to California.