Apple acquires AI firm working with on-device AI, computer vision: Report

Apple has reportedly acquired a French artificial intelligence (AI) startup that is working with on-device computer vision technology. Paris-based Datalab was reportedly acquired by the iPhone maker late last year. The move is said to be related to the tech giant’s ambition to bring AI features to the iPhone and its other devices. Interestingly, this is not the first AI firm to be acquired by Apple in this period. Last month, another report claimed that the tech giant had also acquired a Canadian AI startup called DarwinAI.

Information The news comes from French business magazine Challenges, which claims that the deal to buy Dataclub was finalized on December 17, 2023. While the amount spent by Apple to acquire the startup is not known, based on a notification to the European Commission, the tech giant now has a 100 percent stake in the company. Notably, the AI ​​firm was founded in 2017 by brothers Xavier and Lucas Fischer.

According to LinkedIn Page Datalab’s company describes its work as “a new way to compress computer vision neural networks.” In the About section, it further states that it “works on compression and optimization to deploy embedded computer vision that is fast, cost-effective, and accurate”. The AI ​​firm has published nine research papers and has three patents pending.

The startup’s details shed light on why Apple might be interested in it. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported multiple times that the tech giant wants to build on-device AI. Datalab’s work, primarily in computer vision, also focused on creating on-device tools and systems. Furthermore, the computer vision part is important because it can give Apple an advantage over its competitors. OpenAI recently launched its vision model, and most smartphone-based AI features (except Google Lens) do not provide vision-centric features.

Apple also reportedly acquired Canadian AI firm DarwinAI earlier this year. The startup also worked with on-device AI components. Based on these reported ventures, it’s clear that the iPhone maker is investing heavily to meet its rumored deadline of June 10, when the company is expected to unveil iOS 18, and possibly new AI features. But she is working.