IBM buys AlchemyAPI to bolster Watson technology

New York

IBM is buying machine-learning systems maker AlchemyAPI to bolster its Watson technology as competition heats up in the data analytics and artificial intelligence fields.

AlchemyAPI's software tools are used by 40,000 developers to analyse and classify text and images, and the technology gets smarter the more it works. The end result, analysing information to identify important details and patterns, is similar to what International Business Machines Corp's Watson is marketed to do now.