Apple Bolsters Its AI Push With the Acquisition of DarwinAI

Apple Inc. reportedly acquired DarwinAI, a Canadian artificial intelligence (AI) startup firm. The iPhone maker was said to have quietly purchased the company amid its efforts to be ahead or stay competitive in the AI race.

Apple is also looking to expand its arms of AI startups by adding DarwinAI to its portfolio. The tech giant will use its acquired assets to add more features to its devices, such as the iPhone models.

Catching up With Its Tech Competitors

According to Investopedia, Apple is lagging behind other major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta in integrating AI into its products and services. However, it is said to be the top buyer of artificial intelligence companies and has even surpassed Microsoft and Google in this area.

Apple's acquisition of DarwinAI could help it catch up with other leading tech firms. Before the buyout news emerged, the company's chief executive officer, Tim Cook, mentioned during the latest earnings call that there is "a lot of work going on internally."

He added that "there is a huge opportunity for Apple with GenAI and AI," which could hint that the company is developing many things related to artificial intelligence. Cook said they will share more details later this year.

About DarwinAI Startup

Bloomberg reported that DarwinAI created some AI technology for visual inspection of components during the production process in various industries. One of its primary technologies is building smaller but faster AI systems. The company's features may be advantageous to Apple, focusing more on running AI on gadgets instead of entirely in the cloud.

As part of the deal, Dr. Alexander Wong, an AI researcher at the University of Waterloo, is set to join Apple and become the director of its AI team. He has this opportunity as he is the co-founder of DarwinAI.

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