AlchemyAPI was a software company in the field of

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of study in artificial intelligence concerned with the development and study of Computational statistics, statistical algorithms that can learn from data and generalise to unseen data, and thus perform Task ( ...

. Its technology employed

deep learning Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that focuses on utilizing multilayered neural networks to perform tasks such as classification, regression, and representation learning. The field takes inspiration from biological neuroscience a ...

for various applications in

natural language processing Natural language processing (NLP) is a subfield of computer science and especially artificial intelligence. It is primarily concerned with providing computers with the ability to process data encoded in natural language and is thus closely related ...

, such as semantic text analysis and sentiment analysis, as well as

computer vision Computer vision tasks include methods for image sensor, acquiring, Image processing, processing, Image analysis, analyzing, and understanding digital images, and extraction of high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical ...

. AlchemyAPI offered both traditionally-licensed software products as well API access under a

Software as a service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike o ...

model. After acquisition by

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

in 2015, the products were integrated into the Watson line of products and the brand name eventually disappeared.

Technology and business model

As the name suggests, the business model of charging for access to an API was central to the company's identity and uncommon for its time: A ''

TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. I ...

'' article highlighted that even though the technology was similar to IBM's Watson, the pay-per-use model made it more accessible, especially to non-enterprise customers. At one point, AlchemyAPI served over 3 billion API calls per month.

History

AlchemyAPI was founded by Elliot Turner in 2005, and launched their API in 2009. In September 2011, ProgrammableWeb added AlchemyAPI to its API Billionaires Club, alongside giants such as

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

. In February 2013, it was announced that AlchemyAPI had raised US$2 million to improve the capabilities of its deep learning technology. In September 2013, it was reported that AlchemyAPI had created a

Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a discontinued brand of smart glasses developed by Google's X Development (formerly Google X), with a mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using a head-u ...

app that could identify what a person was looking at, and that AlchemyAPI would soon be rolling out deep learning-based image recognition as a service. As of February 2014 (prior to the IBM acquisition), it claimed to have clients in 36 countries and process over 3 billion documents a month. In May 2014, it was reported that AlchemyAPI had released a computer vision API known as AlchemyVision, capable of recognizing objects in photographs and providing image similarity search capabilities. In March 2015, it was announced that AlchemyAPI had been acquired by IBM and the company's breakthroughs in deep learning would accelerate IBM's development of next generation cognitive computing applications. IBM reported plans to integrate AlchemyAPI's deep learning technology into the core Watson platform

Media coverage

A February 2013 article in

VentureBeat ''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. ''VentureBeat'' is a tech news source that publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos. The ''VentureBeat'' company was fou ...

about

big data Big data primarily refers to data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data processing, data-processing application software, software. Data with many entries (rows) offer greater statistical power, while data with ...

named AlchemyAPI as one of the primary forces responsible for bringing natural language processing capabilities to the masses. In November 2013,

GigaOm Gigaom is a technology-focused analyst firm and media company. It was founded by Om Malik in San Francisco, California. In March 2015, it was shut down and in June 2015, its website and content were acquired by Knowingly and relaunched. History ...

listed AlchemyAPI as one of the top startups working in

, along with Cortica and Ersatz.

References

External links

* {{official website Defunct software companies of the United States Applied machine learning Former IBM subsidiaries IBM acquisitions Companies based in Denver American companies established in 2005 American companies disestablished in 2020