Since the launch of the revamped iteration of Apple Music a year ago, the Cupertino giant has been looking to further beef up its offering in better, more meaningful ways. In a bid to achieve the same, Apple has acquired advanced tech solutions from cloud-based music platform Omnifone and roped in some prominent employees from the company as well.
There have previously been rumors that Apple had acqui-hired Omnifone – its technology and team – when it filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. These speculations emerged because the regulatory filings detailed a $10 million transaction — reportedly by Apple — for a part of the company’s business. The rumors of acquisition were debunked by both companies at that time.
But some pretty definite evidence that proves the aforementioned speculations true has come to light today on Monday. First spotted by TechCrunch, about 16 employees from Omnifone have recently changed their current employer to Apple on enterprise social network LinkedIn. These engineers who’ve made the shift from the cloud-based music streaming service are now working on iTunes, Apple Music, and other related products.
A source also adds that the rumors of Apple being involved in parts of technology acquisition are also true. There is currently no word on what technology(and related patents) has the Cupertino picked up from Omnifone but they could cover areas like digital media identification, streaming and downloading.
Some of the tech acquired from Omnifone has already made its way into the company’s music streaming and downloading services, reports one of the sources privy to the development. But the Cupertino giant itself hasn’t confirmed the development via an official press release, which might not be revealed due to a partial tech and team onboarding.
London-based Omnifone was a cloud streaming platform founded by Rob Lewis in 2003. The tech not only powered the company’s own MusicStation service but also partnered with OEMs including LG, Samsung, Sony, BlackBerry, and more to back thier music services. It partnered with Samsung to launch its infamous Milk music service which was shut down earlier this year — possibly alongside Omnifone.
