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The purchase is designed to boost IBM's push
into more human-like computing services, based around its Watson
technology, which can sift huge amounts of data, learn from the
results and respond to spoken questions.
IBM is trying to build a big business around Watson, which came
to prominence in 2011 when it beat two previous champions on the
U.S. quiz show Jeopardy. IBM gives developers access to Watson
so they can use the technology in their own applications, but it
has only just started to filter down to mainstream use.
AlchemyAPI already has about 40,000 developers building tools
using its technology, which would give IBM access to a much
bigger, ready-made user base.
"They (AlchemyAPI) bring a very substantial development
community and following," said Steve Gold, vice president of
IBM's Watson group. "Plus, they have a very talented group of
technologists."
AlchemyAPI, founded in 2005 and based in Denver, has 18
full-time employees. Its customers include publishing company
Hearst Corp and image agency Shutterstock. IBM did not disclose
the purchase price.
The startup's software gathers data from a wide range of
sources, from Twitter posts and news stories to website images
and text messages, sorts the data, learns to differentiate
between them, and allows users to see connections that would
take much longer to establish using more standard computing
methods.
The software, which learns as it goes, enables users to group
together disparate information on a certain topic or event, find
related articles or information sources, and helps advertisers
target online ads better.
With the addition of AlchemyAPI's technology, Gold said IBM sees
opportunities for Watson in many fields such as healthcare, law
and insurance, or wherever there are large volumes of
unstructured data to be analyzed.
AlchemyAPI is IBM's second acquisition in the field after it
bought artificial intelligence startup Cognea last year, which
pioneered virtual assistant apps for smartphones.
(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Ken Wills)
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