Apple Inc. (AAPL) Ramps Up New Machine Learning Division

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Turi - Apple Inc. (AAPL) Ramps Up New Machine Learning Division

Source: via Apple

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) purchased machine learning startup Turi a month ago. The acquisition is already proving to be a key part of AAPL’s future with reports that Turi is now the basis of a new — and growing — machine learning division.

Turi machine learning
Source: Turi

News hit that Apple had bought Seattle-based Turi for $200 million on Aug. 5. Turi specializes in machine learning and artificial intelligence. It has developed tools like the Turi Machine Learning Platform that are designed to integrate AI and machine learning into apps that can be used for things like predicting customer trends.

The key here is that Turi’s technology can be integrated within apps, bringing machine learning capability to make them “smarter.” The technology is also scalable, so once deployed, it can grow as needed without hitting technical limits.

The Turi acquisition also made logistical sense for AAPL. Apple has been working on establishing a presence in Seattle. Picking up a leading AI startup that also happens to be based in Seattle gives Apple a beachhead in the city. It also makes it easier to retain the key employees of the new acquisition.

Apple Needs Machine Learning to Improve Siri

Apple sees machine learning and AI as being key to improving its products. The technology works behind the scenes on everything from suggesting songs in Apple Music to plotting the best travel route using Apple’s Maps app.

In a July story on machine learning published on Backchannel, Apple executives pointed out that machine learning is quietly chugging away in the background for a number of applications. It allows for facial and location recognition in photos, optimizes battery life, chooses Apple News stories, powers the Apple Pen stylus for the iPad Pro and many other functions across its products.

But the showcase for machine learning and AI is Siri, Apple’s personal digital assistant. Siri is a showcase feature, and it’s becoming central to the user experience across a growing range of Apple products. Siri is integral to the iPhone and iPad experience, of course, but it’s also a key feature for the new Apple TV and the Apple Watch.

When the new MacOS rolls out for Apple’s laptops and computers this fall, Siri will be on the desktop for the first time. Apple also is opening up Siri to developers, allowing them to use the feature within their own applications.

And while Siri has been getting “smarter” with every generation, it faces serious competition. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) have been investing heavily in AI and the cloud infrastructure to power it. Their answers to Siri — Google Now, Cortana and Alexa — are formidable competition.

Which brings us to the new report from 9to5Mac.

Turi Becomes Apple’s Machine Learning Division

The website says it has learned that AAPL is keeping Turi in Seattle. More importantly, it is transforming the acquisition into a full-fledged machine learning division within Apple. In fact, it has already begun hiring engineers and scientists to bolster the new division.

9to5Mac notes:

“The new machine learning division will work alongside Apple’s product teams to prototype new features and improvements that could be integrated into Apple’s existing apps and future products.”

This dovetails with a report a few weeks earlier from GeekWire suggesting AAPL is seeking space in Seattle to accommodate as many as 2,300 employees.

It’s becoming clear that AI and machine learning are critical to the future of many tech companies. The technology has progressed far beyond powering search engines to being the key component in the personal assistants that play a starring role on leading tech giants’ flagship devices. To many people, Siri is the tentpole feature of the iPhone.

And it will be absolutely critical for future products like self-driving cars.

Apple seemed to be in danger of falling behind as its rivals. However, with a Turi acquisition that appears to have rapidly accelerated into the creation of a full-on machine learning division, AAPL clearly is in the game to win.

As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Brad Moon has been writing for InvestorPlace.com since 2012. He also writes about stocks for Kiplinger and has been a senior contributor focusing on consumer technology for Forbes since 2015.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/09/apple-inc-aapl-turi-machine-learning/.

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