Apple buys Tuplejump

Apple Inc. has acquired Indian machine learning start-up Tuplejump Software Pvt. Ltd as it seeks to expand its expertise in Artificial Intelligence. The iPhone maker bought the Hyderabad, India based start-up in June. Tuplejump software specializes in processing and analyzing big sets of data quickly.

Artificial Intelligence has become a key investment field for tech giants as Google, Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. compete with Apple to develop virtual assistants. The Tuplejump deal is Apple’s third acquisition in the industry this year, after the iPhone maker bought Seattle based Turi Inc. for $200 Million and purchased Emotient, a company that uses AI to recognize and act upon facial expressions, for an undisclosed amount.

Tuplejump has about a dozen employees, many of whom were already based on the west coast of US. Apple allowed third parties to use its Siri Virtual assistant in their own apps for the first time this year, a move that was seen by some Artificial Intelligence experts as a key step in improving the product by leaning on the Cupertino, California based company’s vast community of developers.

Google’s rival product has gained plaudits for its ability to understand the intent for a request, while Amazon’s Alexa has an edge in understanding different accents, dialects and languages. Meanwhile, Facebook is seeking to build intelligent chatbots into its social network.

BlackBerry acquires Good Technology

Canada’s BlackBerry Ltd said it will buy rival mobile software provider Good Technology Corp for $425 Million to boost its ability to help corporate clients manage smartphones running on different operating systems. The cash deal may help BlackBerry a one-time smartphone pioneer win new customers for its service business.

BlackBerry shifts focus to device management software for enterprise customers. More than half the devices running on Good’s systems are Apple Inc. products such as the iPhone. Company expects to realize about $160 Million in revenue from the acquisition in the first year after the deal closes.

BlackBerry has recently made acquisitions to expand its services business. Earlier they had announced deals for Secusmart, Movirtu, and WatchDox. BlackBerry has always been about delivering secure mobile solutions. It’s easy to forget now that BlackBerry was once the undisputed leader in enterprise mobility, but when Apple and Android came along, BlackBerry quickly lost its dominant position.

Overall, this looks like it could be a good deal for both companies, giving Good Technologies a soft landing without having to risk the dangers of IPOing in an increasingly hostile market, while filling out BlackBerry growing security platform without putting out a huge amount of cash.