Apple buys Pullstring

Apple agreed to buy Pullstring, a startup that enables the design and publishing of voice apps, as the tech giant seeks to compete more effectively with Amazon and Google in voice empowered apps. A group of former Pixar executives founded Pullstring in 2011 to make interactive voice apps for toys before expanding into Internet of Things (IoT) products.

Pullstring makes software tools for voice apps, and artificial intelligence to power those experiences and toys such as Mattel’s talking Barbie and Thomas the Tank Engine toys. The company was criticized in 2015 for creating “child surveillance devices,” but said its products had security features to protect privacy

Pullstring technology may help Apple to strengthen ties with app creators and gain broader developer support for Siri, which is critical for offering voice-enabled services that will encourage consumers to use its virtual assistant. Apple pioneered voice-enabled technology with the introduction of its Siri virtual assistant more than seven years ago, but the company has fallen behind Amazon and Google in voice-powered platforms like smart speakers that work as hubs for connected homes.

Amazon has a 70% share of the U.S. smart-speaker market with its Echo devices. Google Home trails with 24% of the installed base while Apple's HomePod is a distant third with only 6% of the market. Apple risks losing out on the growing market for IoT devices and services without a stronger presence in smart speakers.

Apple acquires Silk Labs

Apple’s HomePod is a distant third behind Amazon and Google when it comes to market share for smart speakers that double up as home hubs, with less than 5 percent share of the market for these devices in the U.S. And its flagship personal assistant, Siri, has also been determined to lag behind Google when it comes to comprehension and precision. But there are signs that the company is intent on doubling down on AI, putting it at the center of its next generation of products, and it’s using acquisitions to help it do so.

Apple has quietly acquired Silk Labs, a startup based out of San Francisco that had worked on AI-based personal assistant technology both for home hubs and mobile devices. There are two notable things about Silk’s platform that set it apart from that of other assistants: it was able to modify its behavior as it learned more about its users over time (both using sound and vision), and it was designed to work on-device — a nod to privacy and concerns about “always on” speakers listening to you, improved processing on devices and the constraints of the cloud and networking technology.

Silk Labs first product was originally conceived as integrated software and hardware: the company raised just under $165,000 in a Kickstarter to build and ship Sense, a smart speaker that would provide a way to control connected home devices and answer questions, and — with a camera integrated into the device — be able to monitor rooms and learn to recognize people and their actions.

Silk Labs announced that it would shelve the Sense hardware to focus specifically on the software, called Silk, after it said it started to receive inquiries from OEMs interested in getting a version of the platform to run on their own devices (it also raised money outside of Kickstarter, around $4 million). Potentially, Silk could give those OEMs a way of differentiating from the plethora of devices that are already on the market.

Microsoft acquires Semantic Machines

Microsoft is betting big on Artificial Intelligence. The Redmond, Washington based technology giant announced the acquisition of Semantic Machines, a company focused on building conversational AI. The move could help give Cortana the leg up it needs on competitors like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Semantic has previously worked with major tech firms, leading automatic speech recognition development for Apple’s Siri. In essence, Semantic employs machine learning in order to provide context to chatbot conversations, making dialogue seem a bit more natural and better-flowing.

Microsoft is by no means the only company trying to make strides when it comes to artificial intelligence and its smart assistants. Amazon, for example, is trying to give Alexa a better memory, while Google is making bots so human-esque that they’re practically indistinguishable from humans during phone conversations with its new Duplex offering.

Apple Buys Shazam

Apple Inc. agreed to acquire music-identification service Shazam, taking ownership of one of the first apps to demonstrate the power of the iPhone, recognizing songs after hearing just a few bars of a tune.

Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to users. The Shazam app uses the microphone on a smartphone or computer to identify almost any song playing nearby and then point’s users to places they can listen to it in future, such as Apple Music or Google’s YouTube.

While Shazam has been popular with customers, it struggled turning its clever music service into a business that justified its valuation. It expanded beyond simple audio recognition in 2010 by adding capabilities that let television viewers “Shazam” an ad, which would then open a promotion from the advertiser on a user’s device. The company said this feature was used 700,000 times during the 2014 Super Bowl broadcast.

In November, Shazam had about 175 million monthly active users globally across iOS and Android, according to research firm App Annie. The U.S. is the largest single market, with about 20 million active users in November, while the U.K. had about 4 million in the same month. The acquisition would help Apple embed that capability more deeply into its music offerings. The company’s digital assistant Siri gained Shazam integration in 2014, so users could ask it what song is playing in the background.

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.

Microsoft buys AI Startup Genee

Microsoft Corp. is betting big on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make the software and services smarter. The company has announced the acquisition of AI powered scheduling tool Genee, and will be integrating these capabilities in future versions of the Office 365 cloud based productivity suite.

Before Microsoft swooped in, Genee offered virtual personal assistant services in two ways, first through email and second as messaging chatbots on SMS, Facebook, Twitter and Skype. For example, if you may want to meet a friend for lunch sometime in the next few days, all you need to do is mark Genee in “cc” in the mail you send to the friend. Genee will detect that you need to find the time for the meeting, will scan your calendar, and directly mail your friend with multiple time options. If there are any updates to the calendar leading up to meeting time, Genee will update all parties involved, automatically.

Genee uses natural language processing algorithms to understand the contents of a conversation. And this could come in very handy for Microsoft as it looks to enhance its virtual assistant Cortana, which rivals Google’s Now and Apple’s Siri. Also, Microsoft would do well to add the AI capabilities on to the Office 365 suite and make the Outlook mail service smarter.

This ties in well with Microsoft’s recent acquisition of the Sunrise Calendar app, a more powerful and feature rich calendar app, with automatic scheduling features, which gives Office 365 a big advantage. Enterprise and productivity apps as well as services are critical for Microsoft as the company wants to create a niche for itself in a smartphone market which is now undoubtedly dominated by Google Android and Apple iOS platform. 

Apple to buy Turi

Apple Inc. acquired Artificial Intelligence startup Turi Inc. for about $200 Million in the latest deal by the iPhone maker to accumulate advanced computing capabilities for its products and services.

Turi helps developers create and manage software and services that use a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) called machine learning. It also has systems that let companies to build recommendation engines, detect fraud, analyze customer usage patterns, and better target potential users. Apple could use this to more rapidly integrate the technology with future products.

Formerly known as Dato, Turi raised more than $25 Million from venture capital investors including New Enterprise Associates and Madrona Venture Group, according to CrunchBase. Apple has purchased multiple firms over the past couple of years that specializes in Artificial Intelligence. The company has also begun to integrate these technologies into products such as its iPhone software and Siri.

In January, Apple acquired Emotient, a startup that uses AI to recognize and act upon facial expressions. Last year, Apple acquired a pair of voice centric AI startups, VocalIQ and Perceptio, to bolster Siri. VocalIQ specialized in using machine learning to allow voice assistants to engage in more realistic conversation. Perceptio focused on helping AI systems run on devices while sharing limited amounts of personal user data.

Apple acquires VocalIQ

Apple Inc. acquired a UK software startup that could give its digital assistant Siri a boost. VocalIQ has built software aimed at making it easier for people to speak to computers in a more natural way, an area in which Siri and other voice recognition services have struggled. The company has been particularly focused on selling its product to auto manufacturers including a partnership with General Motors Co.

VocalIQ Technology is based on Machine Learning, an area of Artificial Intelligence in which a computer improves as it ingests more information. As a person uses VocalIQ Software it helps a device become more accurate at predicting what commands to execute. Other technology companies including Google and Facebook have been conducting similar research in this area.

Apple has been steadily improving Siri since its debut in 2011. While at first criticized for understanding only the most rudimentary of requests, the company has been adding features for getting sports scores, setting reminders, searching for an iPhone picture or finding directions. Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and generally discuss purpose and plans.