Apple acquires DarwinAI, iOS 18 will have major updates to generative AI

According to Bloomberg, Apple earlier this year acquired Canada-based DarwinAI companies to establish their ownartificial intelligence (AI)team.DarwinAI develops AI technology for inspecting parts during the manufacturing process, and it also works on making smaller, more efficient AI systems.

DarwinAI's website and social media accounts have been taken offline following Apple's acquisition of DarwinAI. Dozens of former DarwinAI employees have now been merged into Apple's AI division. Artificial intelligence researcher Alexander Wong, who helped build DarwinAI, is now a director of Apple's AI division.

In an effort to catch up with the likes of Microsoft, Google and others in the AI market, Apple is working on its next-generation iOS 18 and macOS 15 operating systems to build AI capabilities. Apple is working to keep AI features running on devices for privacy reasons, and DarwinAI's efforts in making small AI systems will help drive that effort.