Nice focused piece by Pierre Cambou at Yole Development:
This acquisition is firstly a confirmation of the industry’s interest in using multiple cameras to solve the dilemma of getting high-quality images from a constrained space […]. […]
Purchasing an imaging software company in this region is another part of the worldwide puzzle that is the camera module supply chain of Apple. All of the necessary technology could have come from a single country. Japan, for example, is the source of Sony’s sensor, and Alps’ and Mizumi’s autofocus and optical image stabilization technology. Instead, Apple is deliberately bringing its module assembly to Korean LG Innotek, getting the key 5 lens optical module from Taiwanese Largan, and now probably future computational software from Israel. This really looks like ‘divide and rule’ to us. […]
Apple’s snatching up of such an early-stage startup is also a sign of the times. […] The latest capital investments suggest software is also getting increasing attention and is gradually moving the center of gravity of the entire imaging industry. 3D integration techniques at the chip level have indeed liberated a lot of “space” for computation. Moving software inside the sensor is yet to be seen as heat is usually detrimental to image quality.
