This time, Apple is enhancing its artificial intelligence skills by acquiring the French startup Datakalab. Xavier and Lucas Fischer, two brothers, launched the business in 2016. This startup specialized on picture analysis and algorithm compression driven by artificial intelligence.
The European Commission claims that the agreement was signed in late 2023. None of the businesses have disclosed the sum, though. Apple and Datakalab were not even formally notified of the acquisition. Thanks to the French business magazine Challenges, the news is finally available.
Apple acquired Datakalab as a result of their determination to use AI responsibly.
In contrast to some of its rivals, such as OpenAI and Alphabet’s Google, Apple lacks generative AI capabilities, according to report. Numerous speculations also suggest that Apple is working internally to close the gap with its rivals in the race for artificial intelligence. These days, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from being a neat feature to a catchphrase in the world of high-end Android and Windows smartphones.
Apple appears to want to be cautious, though. You’ve probably previously heard about at least one problem with AI models, namely hallucinations. In essence, it occurs when an AI model produces a response that is unreliable or deceptive. It occurs when a model is trained using inadequate or erroneous data. As a model is trained on AI-generated content, which is proliferating on the internet, this issue may worsen.
However, how does any of this connect to Apple acquiring Datakalab? Apple is now developing “Ajax,” an extensive language model that will operate on devices. However, there are certain drawbacks to Apple’s strategy in addition to its benefits.
The purchase need to facilitate the development of their on-device LLM
One benefit is the ability to protect user privacy. However, Apple’s capabilities with an initial generation on-device AI model are limited. This is precisely the point at which Apple acquires Datakalab. The Paris-based business has been focusing in deep learning algorithms with minimal power consumption that are fully on-device, efficient in their execution, and considerate of privacy.
It’s also said that a large number of Datakalab members joined Apple. Apple is anticipated to gain from enhancing its on-device AI model with this acquisition.
