Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is venturing into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) with a plan to introduce its own AI offerings, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. This news has sent Apple’s shares soaring by as much as 2%, reaching a record high.
The tech giant has developed its framework, known as “Ajax,” to create large language models (LLMs). In addition, Apple is currently testing a chatbot, referred to by some engineers as “Apple GPT.”
This new development marks a notable step forward for Apple, which has been somewhat reserved in its AI endeavors compared to other major tech companies like Alphabet and Microsoft. While other companies have embraced AI wholeheartedly, Apple has been more discreet about its ventures in this field. At its developer conference in June, Apple didn’t even mention AI, in stark contrast to its rivals.
Following the news, shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) declined by over 1%.
However, Apple has subtly integrated advanced AI features into its products, including Apple Photos, on-device texting, and the recently launched mixed-reality headset Vision Pro. Analysts believe that Apple still lags behind its competitors in incorporating new technology. Even Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, which was once revolutionary, has stagnated over the years.
Per Bloomberg, the AI efforts at Apple are being undertaken by several teams led by John Giannandrea, the head of machine learning and AI, and Craig Federighi, Apple’s top software engineering executive. These efforts have resulted in a new virtual assistant that can summarize text and answer questions based on data it has been trained with. The tool is now being used internally for product prototyping and is akin to Bard, ChatGPT, and Bing AI, functioning as a web application.
Apple has not outlined a concrete plan for the tools it is developing. However, there are indications that the company is gearing up for a significant AI-related announcement in the coming year.
Peter Williams, a financial writer with over five years of experience, specializes in covering stock market movements, bond markets, commodities, and macroeconomic trends.
