Apple acquires Xnor.ai in bid to out-AI Google

News
By published

An escalation in the battle to move AI off the cloud

Apple's Face ID in action
(Image credit: Apple)

While you can already unlock your iPhone using your mug, it looks like Apple is getting more serious about facial recognition and AI. 

Apple has quietly acquired Xnor.ai, an edge-based AI startup, for $200 million. The move, first reported by GeekWire, potentially positions the Cupertino company to take on Google in big tech's endeavors to move artificial learning away from the cloud. 

Edge-based AI: Apple vs. Google

Google is some ways ahead of Apple in its machine learning chips. Google Assistant uses chips on its Pixel 4 phones and Nest Mini smart speaker, rather sending voice recordings to the cloud and receiving improvements in response. 

And while the iPhone's A12 Bionic chip supports machine learning to a degree, the Xnor.ai purchase suggests that Apple's future smartphones will be more capable of handling on-device AI.

In a report by Deloitte, analysts predicted that this year more than 750 million edge AI chips and computers will be sold, mostly in consumer electronics like smartphones. By 2024, that number is expected to rise to 1.5 billion.

Meanwhile Google has been developing Coral, its own edge-based AI initiative. Coral exited beta in October and looks to provide prototyping support and modules that can be used beyond consumer electronics. 

But Apple is determined to command the AI field, leading all tech companies for AI-related acquisitions in 2019. CBInsights found Apple's AI spree has overtaken Google's growth in the same category. 

So while there's reason to suspect Xnor’s AI-enabled image recognition tools will seep into future iPhones and Mac webcams, it's likely not the final play in Apple's bid to out-AI Google. 

Kate Kozuch
Kate Kozuch

Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She writes about smartwatches, TVs, audio devices, and some cooking appliances, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following if you don't already. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.