Apple to Acquire Troubled Media Sharing Startup Color Labs?

Apple is acquiring the troubled media sharing startup Color Labs, according to a TNW report.

Citing 'trusted sources' the site says Apple will pay in the high double digits of millions for the company. The deal is 'done' although papers have yet to be signed.

Color first launched as an app for iOS and Android devices from Lala founder Bill Nguyen. The startup received $41 million in pre-launch funding from Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank. The launch was a failure and the app gained little traction so it was rebranded to let you update your Facebook status with a live broadcast. The new app has also had limited success.


Nguyen's relationship with the board has become strained but even before that he was reportedly looking for a way to sell the company. He started building prototype apps to show Apple's Eddy Cue and other potential suitors using the Color team. The apps were abandoned after being shown off and an entirely new version the Color app itself is said to be have been built but never released.

TNW suggests a few reasons Apple might want Color Labs.

We would look to Color’s patents, which may include one for a file format that they were working on to record HD video. Color said that it had six patents pending at the time of its funding, including its ‘elastic’ social graph and patents related to GPS location and battery saving. iOS developer Daniel Jalkut uncovered several patent applications that Color has filed for in the last couple of months that have names like “sharing content among a group of devices” and “user device group formation”.

All of those patents reference a provisional application filed back in March of 2012 on the multiple device method. It’s not much of a stretch to say these patents could be applied to Apple’s Photo Stream feature in iOS 6. Or its software engineering team could be the target, if Apple was impressed by their work.


Notably, Apple has already acquired Lala, another of Nguyen's companies.

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