Wasabi Technologies, a prominent cloud storage company, has revealed its acquisition of Curio AI from GrayMeta, Inc., with undisclosed terms. This strategic move encompasses obtaining both the intellectual property and the innovative team behind Curio, including GrayMeta CEO Aaron Edell. Edell is set to join Wasabi in the role of Senior Vice President of AI and Machine Learning. The integration of Curio AI technology is slated for a forthcoming AI-powered intelligent storage solution tailored for the Media and Entertainment industry, scheduled for release in Spring 2024.
Curio AI plays a pivotal role in creating a detailed second-by-second index of video content stored in Wasabi. According to David Friend, CEO of Wasabi Technologies, a video archive lacking comprehensive metadata is akin to a library without a card catalog. The incorporation of AI is seen as a transformative step, enabling the identification of faces, logos, objects, voices, and more. The acquisition of Curio AI is expected to revolutionize media storage by streamlining the process of locating specific video segments, eliminating the need for laborious manual efforts.
Recognizing the vast opportunities within the storage industry, particularly in video content, the acquisition is positioned strategically. With substantial amounts of video archives on aging tape systems and a continuous influx of new content from various sources, the lack of searchable metadata poses a significant challenge. Curio AI’s intelligent data platform, powered by AI, generates rich metadata for media libraries. This empowers editors and producers to swiftly search and retrieve specific segments based on various criteria such as people, places, events, emotions, logos, landmarks, background audio, and more.
The Curio AI technology is adept at speech detection and transcription in over 50 spoken languages, providing customers with personalized experiences and hyper-specific details. Wasabi’s plan is to leverage Curio AI-powered storage to offer customers, including entities like Liverpool Football Club, the necessary metadata for managing extensive digital assets efficiently.
Aaron Edell, now Wasabi’s Senior Vice President of AI and Machine Learning, anticipates that AI-powered storage will revolutionize the industry by enabling users to instantly locate specific content within vast archives. This move is perceived as a significant advancement in the storage sector, comparable to the invention of object storage. Wasabi aims to introduce the industry’s first AI-powered intelligent cloud storage, building upon its reputation for simplicity, speed, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. The acquisition of Curio AI is seen as a pivotal step in empowering customers not only to store data but to swiftly locate and retrieve desired information.
