NEW DELHI: Apple is going all in to make a splash in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). According to reports, the US tech giant has set up a secretive research lab in Zurich, Switzerland, where its crack team, most of them poached from rival Google over the years, is working to create Apple’s own suite of cutting edge AI products.
While Apple has been tight-lipped about its AI plans unlike its big tech rivals such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon that have announced billions of dollars of investments, the $2.7 trillion company seems to be on a hiring spree to fire up its global AI and machine learning team. Reports say Apple has lured at least 36 top AI specialists from Google since 2018. This recruitment drive follows the appointment of John Giannandrea, former head of Google Brain (now part of DeepMind), as Apple's top AI executive.
The newly established Zurich lab signifies Apple’s dedication to advancing AI beyond its existing facilities in California and Seattle. Early reports suggest the Zurich team will focus on developing innovative AI models capable of handling both text and visual data to deliver more comprehensive user interactions. This aligns with Apple’s long-standing research on Siri, the company’s virtual assistant, with a potential emphasis on leveraging large language models similar to OpenAI's popular ChatGPT chatbot.
Key figures leading Apple’s AI charge include Samy Bengio, a former Google AI scientist, who currently heads Apple’s AI and machine learning research division. John Giannandrea spearheads the overall AI team, bringing his experience as the architect of Google Brain.
In a separate development, the European Commission has designated iPadOS, Apple’s tablet operating system, as a ‘gatekeeper’ under the Digital Markets Act. This classification reflects the growing regulatory pressure on tech giants regarding their market dominance and highlights the evolving landscape of digital regulation.