Apple May Have Acquired Motion Capture Company IKinema [Update: Confirmed]

Apple may have recently acquired UK-based motion capture company IKinema, based on evidence from company filings and information shared by a MacRumors reader.

IKinema offers animation technology that's used for games, virtual reality, and more. Earlier this year, for example, IKinema partnered with Ubisoft for IKinema's RunTime software for character creation. IKinema specialized in technology that allowed for real-time motion animation of virtual characters.

ikinema1

IKINEMA's technology is embraced by development teams the world over to bring their games to life through delivery of high fidelity results in natural character locomotion and greater player immersion within dynamic game worlds, including substantial cost reduction and accelerated production levels by a factor of five times or more to expedite the release of games to market.

Based on details from IKinema's mostly defunct website, the company considers itself a specialist in real-time procedural animation and whole body solving technology. IKinema has several videos on YouTube showing off its technology creating animated characters from real-life people, dogs, and more.


According to a document filed with the UK government, Apple lawyer Peter Denwood, who handles Apple's international affairs, was named the director of IKinema on September 12, 2019, with his address listed as One Apple Park Way.

ikinemaapplelawyer
The address of the company was also updated to 100 New Bridge Street in London on September 26, which is the address for Apple Europe Limited.

ikinemaaddress
The IKinema website is no longer functional with the exception of a few technical documents, and the company's Twitter and Facebook accounts stopped being updated on August 19. MacRumors reader Peter, who is in the industry, told MacRumors that IKinema customers have been left in the dark "for weeks" and that the acquisition was confirmed in a private Facebook Motion Capture group this morning.

ikinema2
It's not clear what Apple will do with IKinema's technology, but Apple has delved into games with Apple Arcade, though the company does not develop its own game technology at this time.

Apple is also rumored to be working on various virtual and augmented reality projects, which could potentially benefit from IKinema's software, as could Animoji and Memoji, which animate based on facial expressions using the TrueDepth camera system.

Update October 4 7:55 a.m.: Apple has confirmed its acquisition of IKinema, giving Tim Bradshaw of Financial Times the company's usual boilerplate statement: "Apple buys smaller companies from time to time, and we generally don't discuss our purpose or plans."

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
73 months ago

One of these days, Apple will acquire IKEA, and rename it iKea. The prices of everything they sell will skyrocket, but on the plus size, the furniture and housewares will get thinner and thinner.

The Apple iTorp 3S+ sofa group will have a triple-lens camera system, and be only a foot wide. Will make it tough to sit on, and as it will be made mostly of glass, it will be fairly fragile, but GOD will it take fantastic selfies, even in low light! AND it will be able to connect wirelessly to the internet!

Only $4,278.95 with 6GB of CLSDDR4 RAM... (Chaise Lounge Sofa Double Data Rate 4th generation Random Access Memory,) and 32GB storage for the base model. Of course, what Apple won’t tell you is that furnitureOS takes 28GB of storage to work. Never mind why a SOFA needs RAM...

I could be wrong, but it would be really funny. The alternative is that IKEA gets a BUNCH of money from somewhere and buys Apple. The next year, they announce the new iPhøn, which you have to assemble yourself from 178 individual parts, and the instructions are of course, almost free of words, just pictographs showing someone with REALLY tiny hands putting things together, and the obligatory sketch of someone with GIANT hands, (by which I mean regular-sized hands,) on a frustrated person, unable to even pick up or hold the tiny bits, smiling while calling customer service for help, and customer service sending a tiny little pixie of a person in a blue-striped, yellow colored IKEA uniform, over to assist the customer.

For a fee, of course.
That was a lot of effort for very little reward.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kanki1985 Avatar
73 months ago
That would make an amazing addition to the animoji team!! Well done Apple!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
73 months ago

PowerBeats Pro are pretty slick. Other than those and the W1 chip, Apple hasn’t really done much with Beats. Oh and Apple Music / Beats Radio.
I just bought ones, they’re pretty good, Im a freelancer developer, they’re great for taking calls and for switching between iPhone/Mac, I can be making lunch or dinner, skip songs, call someone throw siri, without using my hands and with the phone charging upstairs. It’s not perfect and not exactly cheap but they’re great nonetheless.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Khedron Avatar
73 months ago
Petmoji confirmed
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
halluxsinister Avatar
73 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/10/03/apple-acquisition-ikinema/')


Apple may have recently acquired UK-based motion capture company IKinema ('https://www.ikinema.com'), based on evidence from company filings and information shared by a MacRumors reader.

IKinema offers animation technology that's used for games, virtual reality, and more. Earlier this year, for example, IKinema partnered with ('https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/346338/IKINEMA_powers_Ubisoft_to_deliver_immersive_and_believable_games_faster.php') Ubisoft for IKinema's RunTime software for character creation. IKinema specialized in technology that allowed for real-time motion animation of virtual characters.


Based on details ('https://www.ikinema.com/docs/index.html') from IKinema's mostly defunct website, the company considers itself a specialist in real-time procedural animation and whole body solving technology. IKinema has several videos on YouTube showing off its technology creating animated characters from real-life people, dogs, and more.



According to a document filed with the UK government, Apple lawyer Peter Denwood ('https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-denwood-9a71244/'), who handles Apple's international affairs, was named the director of IKinema on September 12, 2019, with his address listed as One Apple Park Way.



The address of the company was also updated to 100 New Bridge Street in London on September 26, which is the address for Apple Europe Limited.



The IKinema website is no longer functional with the exception of a few technical documents, and the company's Twitter and Facebook accounts stopped being updated on August 19. A MacRumors reader in the industry told MacRumors that IKinema customers have been left in the dark "for weeks" and that the acquisition was confirmed in a private Facebook Motion Capture group this morning.



It's not clear what Apple will do with IKinema's technology, but Apple has delved into games with Apple Arcade, though the company does not develop its own game technology at this time.

Apple is also rumored to be working on various virtual and augmented reality projects, which could potentially benefit from IKinema's software, as could Animoji and Memoji, which animate based on facial expressions using the TrueDepth camera system.

Article Link: Apple May Have Acquired Motion Capture Company IKinema ('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/10/03/apple-acquisition-ikinema/')
One of these days, Apple will acquire IKEA, and rename it iKea. The prices of everything they sell will skyrocket, but on the plus size, the furniture and housewares will get thinner and thinner.

The Apple iTorp 3S+ sofa group will have a triple-lens camera system, and be only a foot wide. Will make it tough to sit on, and as it will be made mostly of glass, it will be fairly fragile, but GOD will it take fantastic selfies, even in low light! AND it will be able to connect wirelessly to the internet!

Only $4,278.95 with 6GB of CLSDDR4 RAM... (Chaise Lounge Sofa Double Data Rate 4th generation Random Access Memory,) and 32GB storage for the base model. Of course, what Apple won’t tell you is that furnitureOS takes 28GB of storage to work. Never mind why a SOFA needs RAM...

I could be wrong, but it would be really funny. The alternative is that IKEA gets a BUNCH of money from somewhere and buys Apple. The next year, they announce the new iPhøn, which you have to assemble yourself from 178 individual parts, and the instructions are of course, almost free of words, just pictographs showing someone with REALLY tiny hands putting things together, and the obligatory sketch of someone with GIANT hands, (by which I mean regular-sized hands,) on a frustrated person, unable to even pick up or hold the tiny bits, smiling while calling customer service for help, and customer service sending a tiny little pixie of a person in a blue-striped, yellow colored IKEA uniform, over to assist the customer.

For a fee, of course.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dan110 Avatar
73 months ago
Apple will essentially become the American version of Sony Corp.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)