The acquisition was made by Ricoh Group company DocuWare in Germany.
Ricoh Company, Ltd. announced the acquisition of natif.ai, a German software startup company offering artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Intelligent Capture, advanced image recognition and optical character recognition (OCR) technologies.
This acquisition enhances data extraction function of Ricoh’s Process Automation portfolio from various documents, including paper and handwritten documents, enabling Ricoh to offer customers automation and sophistication in a wide range of business processes.
In the Process Automation business domain, one of Ricoh’s growth areas, Ricoh supports customers around the world to improve efficiency and advance their operations with a wide range of end-to-end integrated solutions. This begins with data capture and processing with our portfolio of edge devices (including multifunction printers (MFP) and scanners), as well as the management of document and workflow management applications, outsourcing services, and intelligence process automation and sophistication.
Ricoh has been enhancing its value proposition to its customers by not only developing its own products and services but also making strategic investments to acquire various technologies and services. The acquisition of natif.ai is part of that initiative, Ricoh said.
natif.ai is a software startup company founded in Germany in 2019. In addition to its strength in Intelligent Capture, leading image recognition and OCR technologies that utilize AI, natif.ai provides a service platform for document classification and data extraction, as well as research and development of high-performance AI models and advanced OCR technology through machine learning. These technologies enable improved accuracy in reading unstructured data and automatic data extraction from a variety of non-standard business documents such as invoices, order forms, and contracts.
Takahiro Irisa, Senior Corporate Officer and President of Ricoh Digital Services Business Unit, Ricoh Company, Ltd., said, “We are delighted to welcome natif.ai to the Ricoh Group. natif.ai’s advanced technology is imperative to our growth, and this has been a strategic decision to cater Ricoh solutions to evolving customer needs. As a global workplace services provider, we are dedicated in liberating people from task work by leveraging AI technology, in addition to the document and process technologies we have cultivated over the years. Ricoh will continue to work closely with our customers to provide new value, unleash their creativity, and realise a sustainable society where people feel fulfilment through their work.”
“This is a highly significant and strategic acquisition for us. It allows us to provide our customers around the world with cutting edge AI technology, which is vital to business growth and progress. Combining the expertise of the natif.ai team with ours will take DocuWare to the next level as an ECM leader,” stated Dr. Michael Berger, DocuWare President.
In a joint statement Johannes Korves and Manuel Zapp Co-CEO’s of natif.ai said: “We are excited to take this giant leap forward and become a part of the DocuWare Group. Our core driver has always been to accelerate and sustain growth through technology. The expertise of our combined teams will take DocuWare to another level as an ECM provider. These are exciting times, and we are excited to be a part of the change.”
