Tech giant Apple Inc (AAPL: NSD) has acquired Canadian artificial intelligence (AI) startup DarwinAI, according to a Bloomberg report. This move signals Apple’s continued investment in bolstering its AI capabilities.
Strengthening Apple’s AI Arsenal:
The acquisition strengthens Apple’s AI portfolio. DarwinAI specializes in developing AI solutions for visual inspection tasks within the manufacturing sector. Apple already integrates AI and machine learning across its products but has faced criticism for lagging behind competitors in the overall AI race.
Apple’s AI Ambitions:
The company reportedly developed a robust language model, Ajax GPT, surpassing GPT 3.5’s capabilities, and is advancing an AI-driven chatbot, Apple GPT. Despite its discretion, Apple leads in AI startup acquisitions since 2017, investing approximately $1 billion. In 2023, the company integrated over 30 AI enterprises, enhancing its technologies in areas like autonomous vehicles, voice processing, and image recognition.
The acquisition of DarwinAI, a move hailed for both technology and talent. This strategic acquisition also aligns with Apple’s efforts to integrate advanced AI within its ecosystem, as seen in its recent collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology on the multimodal MM1 AI model.
Conclusion:
While the financial details of the acquisition haven’t been disclosed, it’s clear that Apple views DarwinAI’s expertise as valuable for its future AI endeavors. This acquisition could lead to advancements in AI-powered features within Apple products or even pave the way for entirely new AI-driven applications.
