Japan’s digital imaging giant Canon has announced it plans to buy BriefCam, an Israeli firm founded on the basis of Hebrew University technology that uses computer vision and artificial intelligence for rapid video review, for an undisclosed sum believed to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
BriefCam said the deal would drive rapid innovation in video analytics as well as new co-innovation with Canon and its portfolio companies, and allow the company to enter new markets.
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with a global leader in digital imaging. The acquisition will allow BriefCam to continue to deliver industry leading video content analytics solutions, while remaining a standalone company within the Canon Group,” said Trevor Matz, BriefCam President and CEO.
“The opportunity is a testament to the innovative technology we have built, the outstanding team we have assembled, and the rapidly growing business we have created.”
“With BriefCam, we can deliver an even broader range of leading-edge technology and solutions in the fields of network cameras, video management software and video content analysis software to customers and partners across the globe. We are very excited to work with such an innovative organization and we welcome BriefCam into the Canon Group,” said Masanori Yamada, Canon Inc. Managing Executive Officer.
BriefCam was founded in 2007 by Prof Shmuel Peleg, Gideon Ben-Zvi, and Dr. Yaron Caspi, based on video synopsis technology developed at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The company’s technology enables security forces and others to condense hours of video in minutes.