Cyber Monday Sale! 50% Off All Access

Apple Acquires Visual Effects Startup That Worked Its Magic on Star Wars As Yoda would say, 'Strong in Apple, The Force is. Yes, hmmm.'

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Faceshift | Facebook | Enhanced by Entrepreneur

True, the rumors are. The Force is getting stronger in Apple. The Cupertino, Calif., colossus has indeed acquired a Swiss startup that played a key role in the making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Apple confirmed the acquisition of Faceshift last night in a statement provided to TechCrunch. MacRumors first shed light on the rumored purchase earlier this year. The Zurich-based visual effects firm specializes in real time, markerless motion capture that aims to accurately express "realistic and emotional facial expressions," in both video games and film.

Related: Star Wars + Drones = Dreams Come True

TechCrunch reports that several Faceshift employees are already logging hours for Apple from across the pond. For a look at the company's handiwork making alien life forms emote remarkably like humans in the forthcoming Star Wars installment, check out the GIF below.

Faceshift isn't the only European niche technology startup Apple has snapped up lately. The tech giant also recently acquired augmented reality firm Mataio, facial recognition firm Polar Rose and 3-D scanning house PrimeSense.

If you're hoping to find out exactly why Apple scooped up Faceshift, and what it plans to do with its game-changing motion capture software, don't hold your breath. Per norm, Apple remains tight-lipped, reciting its standard post-acquisition line: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Related: What Small Business Can Learn From Force of the Star Wars Marketing Blitz

But that doesn't mean Star Wars fans can't wonder.

While we're on the subject, remember that time Apple chief design officer Jony Ive reimagined the Star Wars lightsaber over drinks with director J.J. Abrams? His vision for the legendary plasma weapon would be "less precise, and just a little bit more spitty," whatever that second adjective means. Apparently Abrams was all ears, as evidenced (perhaps) in this trailer for the hotly-anticipated seventh episode in saga, which, in case you forgot, is just 22 days and 14 hours from blowing our minds.

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

'I Stand By My Decisions': A CEO Is Going Viral For Firing Almost All of the Company's Employees — Here's Why

The Musicians Club CEO Baldvin Oddsson fired 99 workers at once over Slack for missing a morning meeting. But there's a catch.

Business News

'Something Previously Impossible': New AI Makes 3D Worlds Out of a Single Image

The new technology allows viewers to explore two-dimensional images in 3D.

Real Estate

Why Real Estate Should Be a Key Part of Your Wealth-Building Strategy in 2025 and Beyond

Real estate remains a strong choice for building wealth in 2025 and beyond, from its ability to generate passive income to offering long-term appreciation and acting as a hedge against inflation.

Franchise

Subway's CEO Steps Down Amid a Major Transition for the Sandwich Giant

John Chidsey will step down at the end of 2024, marking the close of a transformative five-year tenure.

Fundraising

They Turned Down an Early Pay Day to Maintain Control of Their Business. And Then Went on to Raise $190 Million.

Jason Yeh, co-founder and General Partner of Patron, explains the early-stage venture firm's creation and future outlook.