Niantic acquires machine learning company Matrix Mill

Newsbrief: Pokemon Go developer Niantic has acquired the computer vision and machine learning company Matrix Mill for an undisclosed sum.

Niantic boss John Hanke detailed the acquisition and how the company’s technology will be applied to Niantic’s AR games in a blog post, noting that Niantic is “committed to investing aggressively” in R&D both now and in the future.

Matrix Mill now marks the third acquisition Niantic has made in the last half a year, following its earlier acquisitions of Escher Reality and Evertoon.

“The Matrix Mill team has come up with novel ideas that push the boundaries of what machines can process, thinking around occlusions, and seeing the world closer to the way human eyes can,” explained Hanke. “As a result of this hard work, AR experiences can feel more natural to the eye, which is a goal we have squarely in our sights.”