Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said on Thursday it planned to establish a joint venture with startup AnyVision to apply facial recognition technologies to military systems.
A spokesman for state-owned Rafael said he could not provide further details as the plan has not yet been finalised.

A source close to the venture said the new company would be 50% owned by Rafael and 50% by AnyVision's shareholders.

The Calcalist financial daily said Rafael was investing tens of millions of shekels in the project.

AnyVision is considered a leading firm in computer vision technologies for both the civilian and military sectors, although once the new firm is formed AnyVision would focus solely on the commercial market, Calcalist said. Founded in 2015, AnyVision specialises in face, body, and object-recognition software and its clients include banks, stadiums, casinos and retail to improve safety.

The company last year raised $74 million in a private funding round that included Microsoft's venture fund. But Microsoft in March said it would sell its stake and would no longer make minority investments in companies that sell the controversial technology.

Source: gadgetsnow.com