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Apple acquires fundamental AI smarts by buying DarwinAI

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Another AI acquisition for Apple: Illustration accompanying a story about the company buying Canadian AI startup DarwinAI. — Can Apple buy its way to AI dominance?
*Image: Steve Johnson/Unsplash License/Cult of Mac*

Apple reportedly purchased DarwinAI, a small startup previously based in Waterloo, Ontario. The company developed software that might make artificial intelligence systems running on an iPhone or other computer more efficient.

Apple promised that it’ll have big AI-related announcements later this year, and the acquisition will help the company build the necessary software.

Apple’s DarwinAI is likely about efficient AI systems

2024 will bring a big AI push from the iPhone-maker. “I think there’s a huge opportunity for Apple with GenAI and AI,” CEO Tim Cook said in February. “We’re excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year.”

And acquiring DarwinAI is a part of that, according to a report in Bloomberg on Thursday.

DarwinAI developed an AI-based system for visual quality inspection. Its software could check that items met quality requirements by looking at them. But that might not be why Apple bought the company.

The startup also created Generative Synthesis, a method to analyze an existing AI system developed by training and make a new system that does the same task but more efficiently. And the new system explains to developers/users why it does what it does — something many AI systems can not do.

As Apple is undoubtedly planning to run AI from an iPhone, it’ll need systems that are as efficient as possible.

Another result of the DarwinAI acquisition is additional AI expertise. “Dozens of DarwinAI’s employees have joined Apple’s artificial intelligence division,” reports Bloomberg. And Alexander Wong, who was the company’s chief scientist, became an Apple director.

The deal seems to have become effective at the end of 2023 — that’s when darwinai.com disappeared off the web.

We’ll almost certainly learn more about Apple’s big push into AI at WWDC 2024 in June. Early leaks already indicate that iOS 18 will include new generative AI features, and iPhone 16 will sport a processor designed to run artificial intelligence software more quickly.

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Apple Buys DarwinAI Ahead of Major Generative AI Updates Coming in iOS 18

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Apple acquired Canada-based company DarwinAI earlier this year to build out its AI team, reports Bloomberg. DarwinAI created AI technology for inspecting components during the manufacturing process, and it also had a focus on making smaller and more efficient AI systems.

DarwinAI’s website and social media accounts have been taken offline following Apple’s purchase. Dozens of former DarwinAI companies have now joined Apple’s artificial intelligence division. AI researcher Alexander Wong, who helped build DarwinAI, is now a director in Apple’s AI group.

Apple confirmed the acquisition with the statement that it typically gives when questioned about purchases. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time” but does not discuss its purpose or plans.

In an effort to catch up with Microsoft, Google, and others in the AI market, Apple is working hard to build artificial intelligence features for its next-generation iOS 18 and macOS 15 operating systems.

If Apple wants to be able to rival Microsoft’s Bing, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and other generative AI offerings, it will need to integrate generative AI into a range of products. Apple is testing large language models, and AI features are said to be coming to Siri, Shortcuts, Messages, Apple Music, and more.

Apple is aiming to have AI features run on-device for privacy reasons, and DarwinAI’s efforts to make smaller AI systems could be of use to further that endeavor.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has promised that Apple will “break new ground” in generative AI in 2024. “We believe it will unlock transformative opportunities for our users,” said Cook.

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