Apple has added to its portfolio of artificial intelligence assets with the acquisition of Xnor.ai, a Seattle startup specialised in low-power, edge-based artificial intelligence tools, for around USD 200 million, GeekWire reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Neither Xnor.ai nor Apple gave a comment on the matter.

 

Xnor.ai co-founder Ali Farhadi explained earlier to the publication that the company worked with AI on the edge, developing machine learning and image recognition tools that can be executed on low-power devices rather than relying on the cloud. He added that the company has been able to scale AI out of the cloud to every device out there. The company also developed a self-service platform that makes it possible for software developers, even those who aren’t skilled in AI, to add AI-centric code and data libraries into device-centric apps. The company’s motto is “AI Everywhere, for Everyone.”

The startup launched in 2017 with USD 2.6 million in seed funding from Madrona and AI2. A follow up in  2018 brought in USD 12 million more from Madrona, as well as from Autotech Ventures, NGP Capital and Catapult Ventures. The venture now has over 70 employees.