Sotheby's announced advancements the acquisition of Thread Genius, a startup specializing in taste-based image recognition and recommendation technologies. The deal is undisclosed. Thread Genius was founded by two software and machine learning engineers – Andrew Shum and Ahmad Qamar – both of whom will be joining Sotheby's this week. The acquisition of Thread Genius is a continuation of Sotheby's focus on data and technology to drive innovation and improve both internal processes and client service and experience. Andrew and Ahmad, together with Richard Vibert, a data scientist recently appointed Head of Data & Analytics Strategy, report to Jennifer Deason, Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy & Corporate Development for Sotheby's.