Apple’s Strategic Expansion in AI
Apple has strategically poached numerous artificial intelligence experts from Google in recent years, establishing a secretive European laboratory in Zurich. The multinational tech giant aims to bolster its team dedicated to developing innovative AI models and products to compete with industry rivals.
Recruitment Strategy
An analysis conducted by the Financial Times scrutinizing hundreds of LinkedIn profiles, public job postings, and research papers suggests that Apple, valued at $2.7 trillion, has engaged in an extensive hiring campaign to augment its global AI and machine learning workforce. Since appointing John Giannandrea as its top AI executive in 2018, Apple has successfully attracted over 36 specialists from Google.
While the majority of Apple’s AI specialists are based in California and Seattle, the company has notably expanded its presence in Zurich, Switzerland. Notably, Apple’s acquisitions of two Swiss AI start-ups, FaceShift and Fashwell, prompted the establishment of a research laboratory dubbed the “Vision Lab.”
Innovative Research
Prof. Luc Van Gool from ETH Zurich remarked that Apple’s Zurich-based team has been actively engaged in pioneering research on core AI technologies. Their work has notably contributed to advancements in AI models that leverage textual and visual inputs to generate responses, as observed in products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.
Apple has been discreet in its operations, with low-profile job postings in generative AI at its Zurich locations. Remarkably, one office remains practically unknown to local residents, underscoring Apple’s penchant for confidentiality. Despite requests for comment, Apple has chosen to remain tight-lipped about its AI endeavors, in stark contrast to rivals such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, who publicly tout their substantial investments in cutting-edge technologies.
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