The Financial Times has reported that since 2018, Apple has been steadily hiring AI specialists from Google, with the recruitment of John Giannandrea, Google’s former head of AI, as Apple’s top AI executive. The Zurich lab has also attracted other renowned AI experts, including former Google employees like Bengio and Ruoming Pang.

Although Apple’s main AI development centers are in California and Seattle, the establishment of the Zurich lab signifies the company’s growing commitment to AI innovation.

In addition to hiring top talent, Apple has acquired AI startups like FaceShift (virtual reality) and Fashwell (image recognition), indicating a strong interest in bolstering its AI capabilities through strategic investments.

While tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Samsung have made significant advancements in AI, Apple has taken a more cautious approach. This delay in entering the field of AI, as observed by Ruslan Salakhutdinov from Carnegie Mellon University, may be attributed to Apple’s careful and controlled development process in ensuring the successful deployment of AI systems.

Apple’s AI ambitions are poised to become more apparent in the forthcoming iOS 18 update, with the introduction of generative AI features across various applications such as Siri, Spotlight, Shortcuts, and more. These features are likely to be powered by on-device large language models (LLMs).