Apple has confirmed that it has acquired the tech startup Inductiv, an engineering team from Ontario that specialises in machine-learning. It's believed that Apple's underlying reason for the acquisition of Inductiv is to enhance its virtual assistant, Siri.
Apple confirmed the deal, saying it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” According to Bloomberg, Inductiv was co-founded by three machine-learning professors from the University of Waterloo, Stanford University, and the University of Wisconsin. Considering Inductiv's area of expertise, it's likely that Apple acquired the company to help improve its own AI software, such as Siri.
Image credit: MobileWorldLive
This acquisition marks Apple's continued focus on AI and machine learning, as Bloomberg notes the company has also acquired “several other AI and data companies in recent years, including Xnor.ai, Tuplejump, Laserlike, Turi and Perceptio.”
KitGuru says: Do you use Siri a lot? If so, what do you think of the virtual assistant?