AI is reshaping the frontiers of science and technology, opening up new opportunities across InterDigital’s research areas in wireless and video, to change the way we connect. At InterDigital, AI is a driving force behind our foundational research, enabling us to reimagine the future of connectivity, communication, and immersive media.
Our wireless team is already pioneering an AI-native 6G where machine learning and intelligent systems are built into the network fabric itself. Our Video and AI Labs have long integrated AI into core innovations from next-generation video coding and feature coding for machines, to energy-aware media. Yet, as AI reshapes research itself, we’re adding depth to our research teams and strengthening our long-term commitment to foundational research.
To realize this vision, we’re thrilled to announce that InterDigital has acquired Deep Render, a trailblazing video compression innovator with AI at its core. Deep Render’s approach, built on complexity-constrained learning-based models and first-principles thinking, directly aligns with our mission to drive AI-native innovation from the ground up.
Through this acquisition, we’re taking a decisive step toward full-stack, AI-native compression, where algorithms evolve and adapt through learning rather than fixed design, with a complexity compatible with the capabilities of today’s devices.
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A New Era in AI-Driven Research and Innovation
The Deep Render team brings more than new models; it brings a research mindset grounded in deep tech, compression theory, and machine learning. We believe this acquisition gives us a competitive edge in creating next-generation video systems for streaming, augmented and virtual reality, spatial video, real-time communications, and more.
As global video traffic continues to dominate networks, accounting for nearly 80% of Internet data, traditional network infrastructure alone cannot sustain this growing demand. InterDigital’s leadership in today’s most advanced standardized codecs, HEVC and VVC, has already driven massive efficiency gains, and now, with our combination with Deep Render’s AI-native approach, we can re-imagine the future of compression.
This acquisition strengthens InterDigital’s strategic advantage in three transformative ways:</br>
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<strong>Unifying AI and Video Expertise</strong></br>
By combining Deep Render's AI-driven techniques with our deep expertise in traditional codecs, market-driven features, rate-distortion optimization, and our proven experience in building and enabling deployment of large-scale video compression technologies, we are paving the way for a new generation of adaptive, context-aware, and self-optimizing video systems. These systems will continuously learn from the content they process and the environments they operate in, while leveraging robust and scalable foundations.
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<strong>Accelerated AI-Centric Innovation</strong></br>
Deep Render's methods infuse our Video Lab's research pipeline with fresh AI capabilities. We'll explore hybrid and fully AI-native codecs sooner, harnessing our know-how and experience in the standards ecosystem to drive broad deployment of Deep Render's innovation. This positions us to shape not only future standards but the entire evolution of visual experiences across devices and platforms.
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<strong>Deepening World-class IP</strong></br>
Deep Render's pioneering patent portfolio in AI-based compression complements our world-class patent portfolio, with our assets in HEVC and VVC routinely recognized as some of the highest quality. As we integrate those assets, this strengthens InterDigital's future research, partnerships and licensing, and establishes us as a global leader in AI-native video technology research.
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A Stronger InterDigital; A Future of Intelligent Media and Networks
In the coming months, we’ll integrate Deep Render’s researchers and engineers into InterDigital’s Video Lab. We will further enhance our AI-native solutions and integrate AI modules into traditional codecs, with an initial focus on meeting future standards.
This will complement our existing compression research and will open up new opportunities in complementary research areas such as energy-aware media.
Our goal is to accelerate AI-native video research and to make it a pillar of the standards ecosystem. In the long-term, we believe this will open up new business opportunities as creation, delivery, and consumption of video spreads across a growing range of devices and services.
Deep Render’s pioneering spirit and research excellence perfectly complement InterDigital’s legacy in wireless, video and AI standards. The acquisition strengthens some of the hallmarks of InterDigital’s world-class research teams, including our agility, creativity, and scientific rigor.
Together, we will push the boundaries of what’s possible, creating intelligent, adaptive, and sustainable systems where bandwidth constraints fade, quality and experience thrive, and AI drives the next great leap in human connection.
We look forward to sharing updates on our progress and new breakthroughs in the months ahead.