IMAX says it has taken a significant step forward in its strategy to deliver the highest quality video images on any screen with the acquisition of AI-driven video quality solutions company SSIMWAVE.
The company is a two-time Emmy Award-winner with clients including Disney, Paramount Global, and Warner Bros Discovery.
Its engineering team 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, said IMAX.
IMAX said it intends to 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.
“SSIMWAVE is doing revolutionary work at the intersection of human visual perception and image enhancement technology,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX.
“By putting the power of our global brand behind their award-winning engineering team and product suite, IMAX takes a big step toward a new horizon in our ability to deliver the best images for any creator, across every screen. In the near-term, SSIMWAVE brings to IMAX new, SaaS-based revenue and a world-class client roster that tightly aligns with some of our strongest, most successful content partnerships.”
He added: “SSIMWAVE boasts a brilliant team of engineers, technologists, and academics obsessed with image quality. We look forward to scaling SSIMWAVE’s business and taking it in never-before-imagined directions around the world just as we did with IMAX’s game-changing projection technology.”
IMAX acquired SSIMWAVE for $18.5 million in cash and $2.5 million in stock with additional earnout consideration of $4 million, subject to achieving certain operating performance and financial objectives.
