Technology

QR tech leader Visualead in Alibaba deal – report

The future of Visualead, which provides authentication technology to the ticketing sector and other industries, is uncertain after it was reported that it could effectively cease trading after a deal involving Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group.

Initial reports suggested the Israeli startup was to be acquired by the Chinese company, however tech news website Techcrunch claims Alibaba wants to simply purchase the firm’s technology and talent.

Visualead, which was founded in 2015, has developed a ‘dot-less’ QR code which can turn any image, logo or video into a visual code, so increasing consumer interaction with brands. The company provides scan-based connectivity solutions for mobile ticketing, product packaging and anti-counterfeiting, mobile payments, mobile coupons, social networking, login, and authentication.

Alibaba, which made an initial investment in Visualead in 2015, recently announced a massive $15bn (£11.1bn/€12.6bn) research ‘DAMO Academy’ project focused on R&D. It is believed Alibaba wants to acquire Visualead’s vision technology and members of its engineering staff to create a DAMO (discovery, adventure, momentum and outlook) office in Tel Aviv.

Techcrunch reports that both Visualead and Alibaba have not commented on its report.