What kind of technology did DarwinAI, the AI startup that Apple quietly acquired, have?

Bloomberg, an overseas media outlet, reported that Apple had acquired the Canadian AI startup DarwinAI in early 2024. Although the deal has not been officially announced, dozens of staff from DarwinAI have already joined Apple's AI division.

Apple (AAPL) Buys Canadian AI Startup DarwinAI as Part of Race to Add Features - Bloomberg

NEW: Apple has acquired Canadian artificial intelligence startup DarwinAI, adding technology to its arsenal ahead of a big push into generative AI in 2024. https://t.co/B7eCzMqI5N

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) March 14, 2024

Report: Apple Acquired Canadian AI Startup DarwinAI
https://www.pymnts.com/artificial-intelligence-2/2024/report-apple-acquired-canadian-ai-startup-darwinai/

According to anonymous sources contacted by Bloomberg, Apple acquired DarwinAI in early 2024, with dozens of staff moving to Apple's AI division. Alexander Wong , an AI researcher at the University of Waterloo and co-founder of DarwinAI, joined Apple as director of AI, Bloomberg reported.

When asked by Bloomberg about the deal, Apple said, 'We sometimes acquire smaller technology companies,' but did not mention the acquisition of DarwinAI.

DarwinAI, based in Waterloo, Canada, is an AI startup founded in 2017 that provides a service that uses AI to improve visual inspection in the manufacturing process of printed circuit boards (PCBs) . CEO Sheldon Fernandez said at the time of funding in 2022, 'We noticed that there was no company that combined AI, hardware, and software to build a system that was easy to integrate into the electronics manufacturing process. By facilitating inspection units and data analysis, customers can set up inspection units in new locations and realize entirely new functions such as verifying returned products, auditing processes, and retroactive quality inspection.'

However, Bloomberg stated, 'One of DarwinAI's core technologies is the miniaturization and speed-up of AI systems,' pointing out that Apple's acquisition of DarwinAI was not aimed at PCB inspection tools. Because Apple is pursuing AI that runs on devices such as iPhones, rather than on the cloud, DarwinAI's know-how in miniaturizing and speeding up AI systems is useful.

Apple acquired many AI-related companies between 2016 and 2020, but compared to competitors such as Google, which is developing the multimodal AI Gemini , and Microsoft, which has partnered with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, Apple has not been able to release any notable AI products as of the time of writing. The reasons cited for this include a dysfunctional AI development department, a lack of ambition among executives, and a cautious attitude toward AI.

Apple's caution and dysfunctional development team are hindering its efforts with the voice assistant 'Siri' and AI, raising concerns that it may miss out on the new era of AI.

However, Apple is still investing heavily in AI development and has reportedly discussed multi-year deals with various media outlets to train generative AI.

iOS 18, scheduled for release in 2024, is rumored to include a variety of AI-related features, including a new Siri based on large-scale language models such as ChatGPT and Gemini, AI integration with Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, AI-powered auto-fill in Messages, and an AI feature that automatically creates playlists in Apple Music.

Summary of new AI features rumored to appear in 'iOS 18' - GIGAZINE