Apple acquires podcast search startup Pop Up Archive

Apple announced the acquisition of Pop Up Archive an Oakland based online platform focussed on building tools to transcribe, organize and search audio files. The news first reported by Neiman Lab says that Pop Up Archive ended its Audiosear.ch product on November 28.

Pop Up Archive founded in 2012 by Anne Wotton and Bailey Smith helped podcast producers automatically transcribe their audio recordings into text, which can then be used to make recommendations or match advertisers with the right topics. Its Audiosear.ch search and recommendation engine were used by outlets including NPR, the US public radio organization, and its popular radio series This American Life until it shut down last week.

The Audiosear.ch website that allowed users to search for podcasts now reads: "Hey there! We ended operations and support for Audiosear.ch on 11/28/17. We've loved seeing what you've built with this technology and are grateful for your support over the years." Apple confirmed the news to Neiman Lab in a statement saying, "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

However, it is not clear how Apple is going to incorporate Pop Up Archive's functionality into Apple's technology.