Apple has taken another step forward in the field of artificial intelligence. The iPhone manufacturer has acquired a Canadian AI startup called DarwinAI. The acquisition took place earlier this year, and several employees from the startup have joined Apple's AI department.

DarwinAI, founded in 2017, is an AI technology startup focused on visual quality inspection. It provides end-to-end solutions for manufacturers to improve product quality and production efficiency.

Apple has not provided any explanation for this transaction and continues to tell stories of occasionally acquiring small companies without discussing its plans. Apple CEO Tim Cook previously stated in an interview that Apple does not acquire competitors but rather companies with products or technologies that can be transformed into product features.

Apple's Advancement in Generative AI

Compared to other major tech companies, Apple may be relatively slow in adopting generative AI, but the company has been steadily advancing in a secretive manner.

"I won't go into specifics because our policy is to keep development details secret, but rest assured, we are investing a significant amount of money in this field," said Apple CEO Tim Cook during the third-quarter earnings conference call last year. Apple also plans to introduce generative AI into its voice assistant Siri.

With Apple recently shelving its $10 billion electric car business, the company may compensate for this loss through the development of generative AI.

Applications of AI in Smartphones

This move comes at a time when major tech companies are competing to introduce generative AI capabilities in their devices. Apple's strong competitor, Samsung, has already launched generative AI features in its latest Samsung Galaxy AI smartphones. Google's AI model Gemini (Nano) has also been integrated into smartphones.