- Apple has purchased a company that uses AI to visually analyse components during the manufacturing process.
- This marks yet another AI acquisition as Apple is reportedly gearing up to make a big splash in generative AI technology.
- The company is mounting talent in its AI division, having moved staff from its now-dead electric vehicle plans into it.
Despite showing more hesitance to roll out generative AI as compared with rivals such as Samsung, and even major tech firms like Google and Microsoft, Apple is still making moves in the space.
The latest, as per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, sees the company purchase AI startup DarwinAI for an undisclosed amount, and has folded “dozens” of the startup’s staff into its own AI division. Apparently, Apple had made the purchase earlier this year.
Earlier this year, the company moved staff from its now-cancelled electric car divisions towards its AI division. Among the staff that the company has assumed as part of the DarwinAI transaction is University of Waterloo AI researcher Alexander Wong, who has now been made a director in Apple’s AI group as part of the deal.
Focusing on different applications than the likes of ChatGPT, DarwinAI uses the technology to inspect components of machinery during the manufacturing process visually and already serves customers across different industries.
The acquisition, one of many in the AI space, is apparently another building block in Apple’s incoming shift towards generative AI. The company has already launching AI products internally for the assistance of staffers, but has also begun using the technology to assist with customer service requests.
It is also working on a new version of its internal Xcode programming software that uses generative AI to help developers write code.
Yet the company has not unveiled anything in the guise of customer-facing generative AI products in its consumer tech products. Its top consumer tech rival Samsung has leaned heavily into generative AI, perhaps to its own detriment.
At this point, Galaxy AI is yet to show any revolutionary features that would be sorely missed from Samsung smartphones if they were removed. Features like Circle to Search are too similar to Google Lens and live translation capabilities of the company’s latest flagship showed somewhat mixed results.
It is likely that Apple will include similar generative AI features in its consumer devices at some point in the near future, but right now the Cupertino tech titan is happy to bide its time.
