Several AI publications have expressed doubts that Apple has any moat. The lack of notable LLM moves, absence of AI mentions during their WWDC presentation in June, and the lack of eye-popping AI investments or partnerships have raised eyebrows.
Well, Apple is playing its own chess game, probably maneuvering its queen in a strategic play that could checkmate the industry. Apple has been here for a while, it hasn't merely dipped its toes into the bubbly waters of AI; in fact, it's plunged in headfirst, making AI not just a feature but a core component of its hardware offerings. But what does this trend signal? In a nutshell, Apple is setting the stage for leading in the hardware sector transformed by AI.
The signs are clear when you look closer:
1) Apple is far ahead in AI acquisitions compared to other behemoths (according to CBInsights):
The signs are clear when you look closer:
2) Apple is far ahead in AI acquisitions that other behemoths
3) Apple has multiple teams focusing on AI (according to The Information): The Foundational Models team led by Ruoming Pang and overseen by Apple's AI chief, John Giannandrea, stands out as a significant player. This team specializes in LLMs and is primarily comprised of engineers who previously worked at Google. Their budget has rocketed to millions of dollars per day. They are working on advanced models like Ajax GPT, which reportedly outperforms OpenAI's GPT-3.5. There are also other teams within Apple that work on Visual Intelligence and multimodal AI, which focus on generating images, videos, or 3D scenes and understanding both text and images respectively.
4) Apple aims at hardware transformation (a trend we regard as the most significant): Shifting its focus from solely software capabilities to hardware integration, Apple is extending beyond mere chatbot experimentation. They are embedding advanced language models into Siri, transforming the iPhone into a more autonomous, intelligent device. The funny-looking VR glasses they recently unveiled could evolve into a potent tool, enriched with multimodal AI.
5) Apple is hiring massively.
Read more at https://www.turingpost.com/p/fod22
