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.

Popular Stories

2007 iPhone

Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:51 pm PST by
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone. Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched. The home button...
oppo find n5 fingers

World's Thinnest Foldable Phone Launches Next Week

Monday February 10, 2025 3:05 am PST by
Oppo has confirmed a February 20 global launch for its Find N5, which the company claims is the world's thinnest device in the foldable phone category. The phone is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 in the US. The Chinese vendor has been teasing the device in the last few weeks, touting its waterproofing and nearly invisible display crease, and highlighting its thinness by compa...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
m2 macbook air blue

M4 MacBook Air Release Continues to Appear Imminent

Monday February 10, 2025 10:56 am PST by
There continue to be signs of a new MacBook Air with an M4 chip, indicating that we could see the machine launch in the not too distant future. A private account on X today shared the identifiers that the MacBook Air will use, and those identifiers correspond to the M4 chip. According to the source, both the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with Apple's...
imac video apple feature

Apple to Announce New Products Next Week

Saturday February 8, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple has yet to release any new devices in 2025, but at least two new products are expected to be announced next week, according to rumors. Below, we outline the new Apple products that are likely to be unveiled next week. iPhone SE 4 Apple plans to announce the long-rumored iPhone SE 4 as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The new iPhone SE is rumored to...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple

Apple Increases Mac Trade-In Values for a Limited Time

Sunday February 9, 2025 3:53 pm PST by
Apple today increased its estimated trade-in values for select Mac models in the United States, with the full changes outlined below. Apple says the extra trade-in credit for select Macs is available with the purchase of an eligible new Apple device through April 2. The trade-in values increased by between $10 and $50. Model New Value Old Value MacBook Pro Up to $925 ...
Powerbeats Pro 2 Orange

Powerbeats Pro 2 Given to Customer Early, Expected to Debut Tomorrow

Monday February 10, 2025 7:42 am PST by
Apple's long-awaited Powerbeats Pro 2 are finally expected to be announced this Tuesday. Ahead of time, one lucky Walmart customer was able to get their hands on the earbuds early, according to a since-deleted Reddit post over the weekend. A leaked image of the Powerbeats Pro 2 in Electric Orange "My local Walmart had them in the cage," the Reddit user explained. "I asked if I can buy them...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
77 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
77 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
77 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
77 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
77 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)