According to media reports, Apple acquired Canadian artificial intelligence startup DarwinAI earlier this year, and dozens of its employees have joined Apple's artificial intelligence division. This is also the latest progress in Apple's strategic shift towards the development of artificial intelligence.
Public information shows that DarwinAI is an industrial Internet of Things platform headquartered in Waterloo, Canada. The company's visual quality inspection system provides end-to-end systems for electronic (PCBA) manufacturers to improve product quality and production efficiency. One of its core technologies is to use AI to understand deep neural network algorithms, and then generate a series of new, highly optimized neural networks tailored to specific needs and requirements. In other words, developers do not have to spend weeks or months understanding deep neural network models, but rather have the platform generate smaller and more concise models based on user-defined requirements within a few days.
Industry insiders suggest that this technology may be helpful for Apple as it focuses on running artificial intelligence on devices rather than entirely in the cloud.
The above report also stated that as part of the transaction, Alexander Wong, co-founder of Darwin AI and an AI researcher at the University of Waterloo in Canada, has joined Apple as the director of the AI team.
Affected by this news, Apple rose 1.09% on Thursday, but so far this year, its stock price has fallen by a cumulative 7%, and the market value gap with Microsoft is also widening.
Last month, Apple CEO Cook promised shareholders that he would "open up a new world" in the AI field, but his strategy for AI was accused of being vague.
Kim Forrest, Chief Investment Officer of Bokeh Capital Partners, previously stated that regardless of whether the decision is correct or not, Apple must prove that it still holds a significant position in a world where investors flock to AI.
Rhys Williams, Chief Strategist at Wave Asset Management, said that Apple lacks some of the current market drivers, so its performance is a bit lagging. If some of the new products are really launched, it will be in the second half of the year.