- Apple has reportedly acquired Dublin, Ireland-based Voysis, an artificial intelligence startup that has built a platform for digital voice assistants to be able to interact better with natural language
Apple has reportedly acquired Dublin, Ireland-based Voysis, an artificial intelligence startup that has built a platform for digital voice assistants to be able to interact better with natural language according to Bloomberg. Voysis has been specifically focused on improving digital assistants in online shopping apps. And the software could be used for better responding to voice commands from users of the apps.
Voysis’ website has been taken down, but it previously said that its technology had the power to filter product searches by understanding shopping phrases like “I’m looking for an LED TV” or “my budget is $500.”
When Bloomberg reached out to an Apple spokesperson about the deal, the Cupertino giant responded with its canned statement that they “buy smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” Whenever Apple uses this statement, the acquisition usually ends up being true.
Voysis’ platform utilizes Wavenets, which is an AI-based method for better understanding of human-like computer speech. This technology was first developed by Google’s DeepMind in 2016.
Back in 2018, Voysis co-founder Peter Cahill pointed out that the company managed to reduce its system to the point where the software uses as little as 25MB of memory once the AI is trained. With this technology, Apple could make drastic improvements to its Siri digital assistant.
Prior to the acquisition, Voysis has raised $8 million in funding. Voysis’ investors include CodeBase and Polaris Partners.
