According to GlobalData, Apple is the leading buyer of companies in the global artificial intelligence space. So, from 2016 to 2020, the American corporation acquired more AI startups than Google, Amazon, Accenture, Microsoft and Facebook.
The analytical agency said that Apple already owns such companies as Emotient, Turi, Glimpse, RealFace, Shazam, SensoMotoric, Silk Labs, Drive.ai, Laserlike, SpectralEdge, Voysis, XNOR.ai. Their activities are aimed at improving the capabilities of AI and machine learning in the products and services of the brand.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, revealed at the February shareholder meeting that they have bought about 100 companies over the past six years. At the same time, he emphasized that they pay special attention to small innovative manufacturers who complement products and help in their promotion. It should be noted, however, that Apple has not disclosed all of its acquisitions. Most likely, the CEO did not name the entire shopping list.
Many of the company’s acquisitions are aimed at improving Siri. Despite being the first smart assistant on the market, it falls far short of the Google Assistant and Alexa systems. In order to catch up with Google and Amazon, Apple is constantly modifying the “stuffing”. So, Inductiv was bought to improve the data of the voice assistant, PullString – to make it easier for iOS developers to use the system in applications, and Voysis – so that Siri better understand natural language.
The company also plans to maintain its leading position in the field of wearable devices. Apple is already the dominant player in the smartwatch market, and the purchase of Xnor.ai will help maintain that position. So, over the past year, devices have improved data privacy, eliminating the need to send information to the cloud. This, in turn, boosted the demand for Apple products.
Buying AI startups isn’t just about Siri, however. For example, Drive.ai, a self-driving car company, was bought to further develop autonomous electric vehicles.
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