Apple buys Canadian startup DarwinAI [Video]

Apple has bought artificial intelligence (AI) startup DarwinAI and added dozens of the Canadian company’s staffers to its AI division, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The iPhone maker purchased the business earlier this year, the report stated, citing people familiar with the matter. The report did not mention the deal value.

The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Apple has been slower in rolling out generative AI, which can generate human-like responses to written prompts, than rivals such as Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google, which are weaving them into products.

Alexander Wong, an AI researcher at the University of Waterloo who helped build DarwinAI’s business, has joined Apple as a director in its AI group as part of the deal, the report added.

DarwinAI has developed AI technology for visually inspecting components during the manufacturing process and serves customers in a range of industries, Bloomberg said.