Imax Acquires AI Video Enhancement Company SSIMWAVE for $21 Million

thewrap.com:

SSIMWAVE Inc., a video company that uses AI tech to enhance video images in real time and deliver the highest quality video images on any device for both on-demand and live video streams.Imax acquired SSIMWAVE as part of its mission to produce the best quality video images on any screen and to further its ambitions with live video.

The deal was for $18.5 million in cash and $2.5 million in stock with additional earn-out consideration of $4 million, subject to achieving certain operating performance and financial objectives.SSIMWAVE’s tech has won two Emmys and has a 30-person engineering team that has mapped the human visual system to produce one of the most accurate measures of perceptual quality, which its AI-driven software applies to enhance video streams and files in real time.

Companies including Disney and Paramount Global currently partner with SSIMWAVE to optimize their own video.Imax will work with SSIMWAVE in the near term to further grow its business and product suite, including international expansion.

Longer-term, Imax’s technology and post-production teams will work with SSIMWAVE’s engineering team to develop new solutions for delivering Imax-quality video experiences across platforms and around the world.The acquisition is expected to be accretive in 2023 and have no material impact in 2022.“SSIMWAVE is doing revolutionary work at the intersection of human visual perception and image enhancement technology.