Apple bought the company earlier this year, and dozens of DarwinAI workers have joined Apple’s artificial intelligence division, according to people who know about the deal but asked not to be named because it hasn’t been made public.
Apple Inc. has bought the Canadian AI company DarwinAI, which gives it more tools before 2024 when it plans to make a big push into generative AI.
NEW: Apple has acquired Canadian artificial intelligence startup DarwinAI, adding technology to its arsenal ahead of a big push into generative AI in 2024. https://t.co/B7eCzMqI5N
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) March 14, 2024
Apple bought the company earlier this year, and dozens of DarwinAI workers have joined Apple’s artificial intelligence division, according to people who know about the deal but asked not to be named because it hasn’t been made public.
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DarwinAI has created AI technology that can visually check parts while they are being made. They have customers in many different businesses. AI systems are getting smaller and faster, though, which is one of its main technologies. Apple is interested in having AI on devices instead of just in the cloud, so this work could help them.
Alexander Wong, an AI expert at the University of Waterloo who helped build the company, has become a director in Apple’s AI group as part of the deal.
When asked about the deal, Apple, based in Cupertino, California, said it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time” but doesn’t talk about its plans.
The news caused Apple shares to rise for a short time, going up more than 1% to $173.37. The price was $172.92 in New York at 1:29 p.m., down about 10% from the same time last year.
As of 2022, the Canadian startup group Communitech said that DarwinAI, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, had raised more than $15 million. Among other venture capital groups, Honeywell Ventures and Inovia Capital put money into it. Communication Technology says the new company has also worked with Lockheed Martin Corp. and Intel Corp.
In a quiet move, Apple bought the company before making a big push into AI this year. The business is adding features to iOS 18 that use generative AI, which is the technology behind ChatGPT and other cutting-edge tools. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the company will “break new ground” in AI this year. A statement is likely to be made at the company’s worldwide developers conference in June.
Apple has fallen behind in the creative AI market, even though it has bought more AI companies than most of its competitors over the last ten years. When OpenAI’s ChatGPT came out in 2022, it caught it off guard. Since then, tech companies like Google and Microsoft Corp. have taken the lead with new features.
Apple has started to use generative AI in its internal processes, such as to help with customer service ticket requests. It also wants to add features to its software that will let it automatically make slides and finish blocks of text. Apple is also making a new version of Xcode that will have AI that will help programmers write code.
Reviews on Twitter
$AAPL AI acquisition won’t move the needle from a numbers perspective but shows where their efforts are at the moment. https://t.co/kzdVygol2K
— Stephanie Link (@Stephanie_Link) March 15, 2024
DarwinAI — a @creativedlab graduate — has reportedly been acquired by Apple. https://t.co/3qql9uxkpr
— Joshua Gans (@joshgans) March 14, 2024
Apple is focussed on utilising #AI on devices rather than solely on #cloud. Acquisition of #DarwinAI would help @Apple in amping up it's AI capabilities. AI #startups bring innovative solutions to the table. https://t.co/ib1DmJnYvh
— Dr.Omkar Rai (@Omkar_Raii) March 15, 2024
Source- Bloomberg.com
