Slyce Acquires YorkU Vision Technology to Strengthen Mobile Image Recognition

Slyce announced the acquisition of YorkU Computer Vision Technology in a move to strengthen its mobile image recognition application customized for retail e-commerce. The computer vision technology was developed by a group of researchers at the York University and the deal was anchored by MaRS Innovation and Innovation York, the commercialization office of York University.

Slyce also announced the onboarding of Dr. Ehsan Fazl-Ersi as the head of Research and Development to oversee the integration of the newly acquired technology into Slyce’s Visual Search Platform. Dr. Fazl-Ersi, a former PhD Student at the York University was engaged in the development of the technology in association with his PhD supervisor Dr. John K. Tsotsos, former director and currently a member York University’s Centre for Vision Research.

In a release, Adam Jarczyn, chief product officer at Slyce, said, “Slyce is excited to reach this deal with York University and MaRS Innovation and add another piece of unique technology to our platform. Visual search is experiencing explosive growth and has become a compelling way for retailers to engage their customers. York’s technology provides us with another competitive edge in ensuring a high-quality consumer shopping experience.”

The Computer Vision Technology developed at the York University aptly recognizes, analyzes and consolidates similar images. The current acquisition complements Slyce’s Visual Search Platform by further boosting the capability of the platform to recognize similar images.

Speaking of the acquisition deal, Dr. Robert Haché, vice-president for Research & Innovation at York University, said, “York University is pleased to support this deal, which will make Professor Tsotsos’ and Dr. Fazl-Ersi’s computer vision technology available to customers all over the world. The deal demonstrates Innovation York’s ability to assist our researchers in commercializing their intellectual property and securing employment for the highly qualified professionals who are trained at York.”

Slyce offers advanced visual search technology for brands, publishers and retailers. The image recognition technology enables consumers to search for their desired product in a retailer’s catalog by hovering the product image from their smartphones over the catalog. Slyce platform enables consumers to find similar or closely-matching products enabling the retailers to clinch an on-the-spot sale in most cases.

York University is one of the most popular research facilities in the world fostering the development of new technology across its 11 faculties and 27 research centers.