Intel Extends Its Internet Of Things Roadmap With Itseez Acquisition

Intel scooped up Itseez, a company specializing in computer vision algorithms and implementations for embedded and specialized hardware, marking the company’s latest stepping stone into the lucrative Internet of Things market.

The acquisition will position the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company to dive into new connected markets, including automotive and industrial inspection, according to Doug Davis, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Internet of Things Group.

’Itseez will become a key ingredient for Intel’s Internet of Things Group road map and will help Intel’s customers create innovative deep-learning-based [computer vision] applications like autonomous driving, digital security and surveillance, and industrial inspection,’ he said in a post. ’Together, we’ll step up our contribution to these standards bodies – defining a technology bridge that helps the industry move more quickly to OpenVX-based products.’

[Related: 10 Internet Of Things Acquisitions So Far In 2016]

Russian company Itseez is a key contributor to computer vision standards initiatives including OpenCV and OpenVX. The company also contributes software tuning and integration in many market-leading products, from cars to security systems.

Computer vision technology includes methods for acquiring, processing and analyzing images from the real world to make automated actions.

Financial specifics of the acquisition were not disclosed.

With Itseez under its belt, Intel will be able to dive deeper into the connected automotive industry with new features like functional safety and over-the-air software management.

’This latest acquisition gives Intel an entry in the autonomous cars arena,’ said Hilary Longo, vice president of marketing at Eurotech, a Columbia, Md.-based Intel partner. ’As with any company enabling IoT-based technology or enterprises deploying it, the real success comes when you have the full solution, integrating hardware and software, to take advantage of the data coming from the video streams, machine learning and detailed algorithms for analysis and action. Eurotech strongly supports that integrated approach to achieve positive business impacts.’

Intel has been hitting the Internet of Things fast and hard. The company's first-quarter earnings report revealed that its Internet of Things segment grew 22 percent over the year-earlier quarter.

After Intel’s earnings, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich laid out the company's future as a cloud, IoT and connectivity source as it moves away from dependence on the PC market.