- Apple acquired Canadian AI startup DarwinAI, which specializes in developing smaller and more efficient AI systems.
- This could be a big step towards integrating on-device AI capabilities in upcoming product lineups.
- Apple might showcase its AI features in Siri, Shortcuts, Messages, and more at WWDC 2024.
Generative AI has been one of the most popular and hottest topics for almost a year now. The race for on-device AI supremely is at its highest speed, with Apple following Google’s recent announcement about the Gemini Nano model. Apple quietly went on an AI startup shopping spree to outpace its competitors. According to Bloomberg, the Cupertino tech giant acquired a Canadian AI startup DarwinAI earlier this year to build its AI team.
DarwinAI specializes in making smaller, faster, and more efficient AI systems. Also, it created an AI technology to inspect components during the manufacturing process.
Following the acquisition, DarwinAI’s website and social media accounts have been taken offline. It’s also reported that dozens of former DarwinAI employees, including AI researcher Alexander Wong, have joined Apple’s Artificial Intelligence team. Wong helped build DarwinAI, and now he’s a director in Apple’s AI team.
Apple never reveals its acquisitions and future plans. It simply states, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time”. Of course, this doesn’t reveal the purpose or upcoming plans. However, we might assume it is a big move by Apple to integrate on-device AI features into its upcoming software versions and product lineup.
We all know that Google, Microsoft, and other players have already taken a lead in the AI space. Now, Apple is working hard to catch up. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook already confirmed that Apple’s Generative AI features are coming later this year. So, it’s evident that Apple is working day & night to build AI features for its next-generation iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 operating systems.
If Apple has plans to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing, and other top generative AI offerings, it needs to integrate generative AI into its product lineup. Apple is reportedly testing large language models, and its AI features are expected to reflect across Siri, Apple Music, Shortcuts app, Messages, and more. We’re likely to see a smarter voice assistant, “Siri 2.0” that’s largely inspired by AI capabilities.
For privacy reasons, Apple is planning to have AI features run on-device, and DarwinAI’s specialization in making smaller AI systems might be of great use. Since WWDC 2024 isn’t too far, we don’t have to hold our excitement too long to witness how Apple plans to leverage its AI advancements in upcoming software updates and product lineups.
