Apple has bought machine learning and artificial intelligence startup Turi, formerly known as Dato and GraphLab and founded by Carlos Guestrin, GeekWire reported. No financial details were given but sources with knowledge of the deal put the purchase price at around USD 200 million. The acquisition reflects a larger push by Apple into artificial intelligence and machine learning. It also promises to further increase its presence in the Seattle region. Both Apple and Turi declined to comment.
The sources expect Turi’s team to remain in the Seattle region and continue to grow as Apple builds out further expertise in data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Turi recently hosted a closely-watched Data Science Summit in San Francisco, in an indication of its leadership position in the field. Apple’s plans for Turi’s technology are not clear, but the company has been making a broad push into artificial intelligence through an expansion of its Siri personal assistant and related technologies.
