Facebook offers the London start-up Scape, at the origin of a geolocation system via computer vision

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Facebook has acquired the start-up Scape Technologies, based in London (United Kingdom), according to our colleagues from TechCrunch. Specialist in computer vision, it has developed a visual geolocation system that is more precise than location by GPS … and whose use is not as well supervised. Since the latest versions of their respective operating systems, iOS and Android, Apple and Google have been restricting the possibility for third-party applications to precisely locate the user. Although Facebook is still able to obtain an estimate of the locations by cross-checking various data.

UNIQUE PRECISION

according to TechCrunch, the cost of the operation is estimated to be $ 40 million – although no official figure has been released, Facebook just points out that it "occasionally acquire small technology companies" and that he does "not always comment on his plans". Legal documents confirming the buyout of 75% of the company's capital nevertheless confirm the takeover by Facebook representatives of its board of directors – thus dismissing Entrepreneurs First, LocalGlobe, Mosaic Venture and Fly Ventures, the first investors in Scape.

Founded in 2017, the start-up has developed a "visual positioning service" which it provides to developers behind demanding applications, which require very precise localization of users. A technology well suited for uses in the field of augmented reality, such as mobility and robotics. Generally speaking, Scape has always said that he wanted to make sure that "any machine with cameras understands its environment as best as possible".

A STRATEGIC ACQUISITION

This acquisition is in line with the work currently being carried out by Facebook, which emphasizes virtual reality and augmented reality. It is undoubtedly to generate location data from images as part of the development of its future augmented reality glasses that the group of Mark Zuckerberg carried out such an operation. The famous social network could also better target its users based on their location for advertising purposes … and earn new income.

As noted TechCrunch, the takeover of Scape Technologies is yet another example of GAFAM’s interest in British AI companies. Google, for example, recently finalized the integration of London-based start-up DeepMind Health into its own health division. This has raised a number of questions regarding the protection of patient data, the company being a long-standing partner of the National Health Service (NHS).

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