International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has acquired deep learning startup AlchemyAPI Inc.

According to Reuters, the purchase is designed to boost IBM’s push into more human-like computing services, based around its Watson technology.

Founded in 2005, AlchemyAPI is a deep learning-based artificial intelligence company that provides advanced cloud-based and on-premise text analysis infrastructure that eliminates the expense and difficulty of integrating natural language processing systems into your application, service, or data processing pipeline.

In May 2014 it extended its services into image analysis with the API-based service AlchemyVision that analyzes and tags images to effectively carry out cognitive computing tasks.

AlchemyAPI is said to have around 40,000 developers building tools using its technology, delivering IBM a ready-made user base.

“They [AlchemyAPI] bring a very substantial development community and following,” said Vice President of IBM’s Watson group Steve Gold said. “They complement the work we’ve been doing and bring an added dimension to the work we’ve been doing.”

IBM said they will integrate AlchemyAPI’s deep learning technology into the core Watson platform, augmenting Watson’s ability to quickly identify hierarchies and understand relationships within large volume data sets.

“Today is the start of a new journey for AlchemyAPI, our customers, and our user community, as we join IBM, the leader in cognitive computing,” Founder and CEO of AlchemyAPI Elliot Turner added. “We founded AlchemyAPI with the mission of democratizing deep learning artificial intelligence for real-time analysis of unstructured data and giving the world’s developers access to these capabilities to innovate. As part of IBM’s Watson unit, we have an infinite opportunity to further that goal.”

Based in Denver, AlchemyAPI had raised $2 million Series A from Access Venture Partners prior to acquisition. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.