According to foreign media reports, Apple quietly acquired the artificial intelligence device startup Silk Labs, which specializes in developing lightweight artificial intelligence software that can be installed on consumer hardware such as cameras. This move shows that Apple is increasingly ambitious in the field of AI and smart home devices.
According to people familiar with the matter, the acquisition took place earlier this year and there has never been a related report before. According to PitchBook, a research company that tracks the financing of start-ups, this may be a small deal for Apple, because Silk Labs has only about 12 employees and raised about $4 million in funding.
Both Apple and Silk Labs have said in the past that for privacy considerations, they prefer AI running on local personal devices instead of the cloud, which allows companies to collect large amounts of personal data.
Apple's acquisition of Silk Labs may help it strengthen its broader AI and smart home business. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.
Silk Labs is headquartered in San Mateo, California. In 2015, three former employees of browser developer Mozilla, Andreas Gal, Chris Jones and Michael Venice (Michael Vines) created.
The three founders have all participated in the development of Firefox OS. This was a failed attempt to develop another smartphone platform to compete with Apple's iOS and Google's Android.
When Silk Labs exited the stealth mode in 2016, Gal said that the company focused on developing an operating system that incorporates AI to power hardware produced by other companies. These companies compete in the "Internet of Things" field, including smart thermostats and other connected devices.
Gal said in an interview in 2016: "The Internet of Things devices have not reached the level of advanced intelligence. The word'smart' is a bit exaggerated. These devices are only running very simple software."
At the same time, Silk Labs is developing its own device, an AI-enabled smart camera and a hub called Sense. The company hopes to raise funds through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.
Unlike other smart cameras, Sense will not push video recordings to the cloud, but will use a mobile chipset produced by Qualcomm to process and analyze the video on the device. In an early demonstration, the Sense camera was able to analyze human faces. For example, if a stranger is present, it will send an alert to the owner.
However, after raising more than $150,000 in funding, Silk Labs terminated the program and returned the funds to early backers. The company announced that it will instead focus on integrating its software into third-party devices instead of building its own hardware.
At the same time, Apple has always tried to surpass its competitors through AI products that better protect user privacy. HomePod is a smart speaker that Apple uses to compete with Amazon Echo and other products. However, due to the high price and limited functions of the voice assistant Siri, sales of this product have been struggling.
According to reports, before launching HomePod, Apple considered installing a camera on this device that can perform facial recognition.