Apple is not generally known for splurging on fancy acquisitions. Yet, the Cupertino giant appears poised to make an exception in the case of Prompt AI, whose talent and intellectual property might just be the adrenaline shot that Apple needs to regain its footing in the AI sphere.
Here Is What We Know So Far
As per the reporting by CNBC, Apple is nearing a deal to acquire Prompt AI. Relevant details include:
- Prompt AI employees were informed about the imminent acquisition at an all-hands meeting on October 09.
- The startup’s investors will receive some compensation but won’t be made whole. This suggests that Apple is driving a hard bargain on the acquisition price.
- The final purchase price is not known yet.
- Prompt AI’s flagship product – the Seemour app – is now slated to go offline. All user data will be deleted to protect customer privacy.
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Prompt AI has been working towards developing ambient AI that leverages computer vision and natural language to “sense” the surroundings in real-time. The company’s Seemour app connects to home security cameras, allowing an accurate detection of specific people, pets, or objects. It also sends alerts after detecting suspicious activity, describing the scene in detail, if prompted.
As mentioned earlier, Apple is generally not known for its outlandish acquisitions. After all, the company’s largest acquisition to-date is its $3 billion deal for Beats Electronics back in 2014.
However, as the Cupertino giant continues to juggle with the shortcomings of Apple Intelligence, it might be pivoting towards acquisitions now as a panacea of sorts.
In doing so, Apple appears to be borrowing from Meta’s playbook, which recently acquired Scale AI in a $14.3 billion deal.
As a refresher, Apple announced a number of AI features clubbed under the Apple Intelligence banner in June 2024. However, the last two features – in-app actions and personal context awareness, where Siri leverages personal data to offer tailored services such as scouring the Messages app to find a specific podcast mentioned in a text conversation – continue to experience rollout delays, reinforcing the perception around Apple’s supposed AI-related inaptitude.
The acquisition of Prompt AI might also relate to Apple’s new pivot towards AI-enabled smart glasses in order to better compete with Meta’s assortment of offerings in this category.
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