Apple Has Reportedly Acquired Italian Startup Stamplay

Apple has acquired Italian startup Stamplay, which offered an API-based back-end development platform, according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. The report claims Apple paid around five million euros for the company.

apple stamplay
The report does not cite Apple's standard statement for acquisitions, which typically reads "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." We've reached out to Apple for our own confirmation, but we did not immediately hear back.

Nevertheless, one telltale sign of the acquisition or at least an acqui-hire is that Stamplay's website was almost entirely stripped of information within the past few weeks, as is usually the case following Apple acquisitions.

Stamplay describes itself as a "low code workflow automation platform, empowering organizations to streamline manual work by integrating data and business applications used every day." The "API-based development platform" enables developers to build and launch "full-featured cloud-based web apps."

From the startup's LinkedIn page:

The powerful web-based editor includes everything a developer needs to create and run a powerful backend for their app, including popular APIs like Stripe (payments), Sendgrid (email), Twilio (SMS and VoIP), Pusher (realtime notifications) and many more.

The report was brought to our attention by setteBIT:

Stamplay was co-founded by Giuliano Iacobelli and Nicola Mattina.

Update: In a press release via setteBIT, the Università Roma Tre in Italy has confirmed that Apple acquired Stamplay.

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
65 months ago
I am not bright enough to digest this. Can somebody smarter than I am break this down into what it could be used for?
Can't help you there, but from what I know, when developing an app that accesses the internet, there tends to be a front end and a back end.

The front end runs code on the user's computer, moving data around on one device alone and not needing to communicate with other users. The backend runs on computers elsewhere, and when the front end needs some bit of information stored online (an account balance, a picture, the number of likes your stupid GIF got), it requests it from the server. Because multiple people are interacting with data simultaneously on the servers, and they need to do it quickly and securely, programming the back end of an app can be far more daunting than the front end.

Stamplay seems to make it much easier for businesses to develop backends without writing a lot of the server-side code from scratch by providing a "low code workflow automation platform, empowering organizations to streamline manual work by integrating data and business applications used every day."

However, I think what Stamplay truly brings to the table is a goofy sounding name:

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ryanwarsaw Avatar
65 months ago
I am not bright enough to digest this. Can somebody smarter than I am break this down into what it could be used for?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TinyTears Avatar
65 months ago
Lazy article.

1) They appear to be based in London, although founded by Italians.
2) It takes all of two seconds to confirm that they have been acquired by apple - https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08168198/officers

I'm sure it's no coincidence that various lawyers with a registered address of One, Apple Park Way, Cupertino, California 95014, United States recently took on director roles at the company.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
drdreric Avatar
65 months ago
Maybe it was bought for FileMaker, not Apple directly. Could that explain the lack of the usual Apple acquisition statement?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
asiga Avatar
65 months ago
Web cloud-based apps: A bad thing for us who want to use code locally, under our control, as opposed to the service-based model that many tech companies (Apple included) are trying to push (because of many things: more frequent payments from subscriptions, more chances of monetizing users behaviour and data, more chances of forcing into buying new hardware by not allowing you to avoid updating, etc, etc).

It fits with the latest Apple strategies.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...