Machine learning and artificial intelligence startup Turi has been acquired by Apple in a deal characterized as a blockbuster exit for the Seattle-based company, formerly known as Dato and GraphLab, GeekWire has learned. The acquisition reflects a larger push by Apple into artificial intelligence and machine learning. It also promises to further increase the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's presence in the Seattle region, where Apple has been building an engineering outpost for the past two years. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," said Apple in a statement when contacted by GeekWire about the deal, its standard comment after making such acquisitions. Multiple sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed that Turi has been acquired.

Martin Legowiecki is the creative technology director at Deutsch. Interaction with the world around us should be as easy as walking into your favorite bar and getting your favorite drink in hand before your butt hits the bar stool. The bartender knows you, knows exactly what drink you like and knows you just walked through the door. Advances in AI help make new human-to-machine and machine-to-human interaction possible. Traditional interfaces get simplified, abstracted, hidden -- they become ambient, part of everything.

Machine learning has had fruitful applications in finance well before the advent of mobile banking apps, proficient chat bots, or search engines. Given high volume, accurate historical records, and quantitative nature of the finance world, few industries are better suited for artificial intelligence. There are more uses cases of machine learning in finance than ever before, a trend perpetuated by more accessible computing power and more accessible machine learning tools (such as Google's Tensorflow). Today, machine learning has come to play an integral role in many phases of the financial ecosystem, from approving loans, to managing assets, to assessing risks. Yet, few technically-savvy professionals have an accurate view of just how many ways machine learning finds it's way into their daily financial lives.

Trevor Sumner is a successful NYC-based technologist, CTO and co-founder of LocalVox, avid scuba diver, fisherman, amateur cook and adventure traveler. As the CTO of a marketing technology company, my main challenge is to keep up with rapid changes in technology and consumer behavior in order to create differentiated growth. In the last 10 years, mobile and social media have disrupted advertising, software and consumer electronics. Just like the rise of the PC and internet a decade before, these are foundational disruptions. Multiple groundbreaking technologies are looking to change how we interact with products, companies and each other, and they are being driven by a perfect storm of dependent innovation.

Fluenty is an AI-driven messaging platform that is well positioned to deliver in the midst of this much hyped and growing wave. The company released its technology and published its patents before Smart Reply or Google Allo were even on the market. It is simple to integrate with other messaging apps and quick at acquiring users' taste and personal style. No need to open Fluenty when you need it. Unlike Google, it has the capacity to combine with other apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Hangout or KakaoTalk, as well as text messaging apps. By suggesting pre-written replies to messages, Fluenty does not interfere with the flow.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: The Apple logo is displayed on the back of an iPhone on August 3, 2016 in London, England. Apple is continuing to make inroads into artificial intelligence. The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech behemoth bought Turi, a machine learning platform, for 200 million, according to sources at GeekWire. Apple would not confirm the move to USA TODAY, but said the company buys smaller technology companies "from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." The Cupertino-based tech behomouth appears to be coming to terms with slumping demand for the iPhone by expanding into other markets, including artificial intelligence.

Have you ever talked to your computer or smartphone? Maybe you've seen a coworker, friend or relative do it. It was likely in the form of a question, asking for some basic information, like the location of the best nearby pizza place or the start time of tonight's sporting event. Soon, however, you may find yourself having entirely different interactions with your device – even learning its name, favorite color and what it thinks about while you are away. It is now possible to interact with computers in ways that seemed beyond our dreams a few decades ago. Witness the huge success of applications as diverse as Siri, Apple's voice-response personal assistant, and, more recently, the Pokémon Go augmented reality video game.

The company also found that conversations with GIFs were two times longer than those without, and since the feature was enabled in 2016, more than 100 million GIFs have been sent around the world in the app. Tinder's sociologist Dr. Jess Carbino told Engadget that she regularly interviews the company's users. She believes starting conversations is challenging, and that GIFs and emojis are a good way to break the ice, because "people are very attracted to art and things that are visual," she said. When asked if the animated images could be used as a crutch, Dr Carbino argued, "GIFs are a good way to assess compatibility and sense of humor." The GIFs aren't just used by young people, either.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was the subject of an in-depth interview published over the weekend in The Washington Post in which he talked about a wide range of issues, including augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI), the future of the iPhone, and the company's North Star. In the interview, Cook dismissed the idea of the iPhone accounting for two-thirds of Apple's revenues being problematic, calling the smartphone's dominance a privilege and expressing his belief that one day, every person on earth will own a smartphone. Cook also defended the company's progress in AI technology, pointing to the expanding capabilities of Siri, the digital assistant that Apple launched in 2011. Apple is opening up Siri to third-party developers so the technology can be used by other applications -- such as Uber or Lyft, as Cook pointed out -- to help users complete tasks faster and more efficiently. Earlier this month, the company reportedly bought Turi, a Seattle-based startup company and the latest purchase in a string of acquisitions aimed at bolstering its machine learning and AI capabilities.

Apple's plan to tackle the great iPhone sales slump is for it to produce, yes, more iPhones. CEO Tim Cook, in a scripted Q&A with the Washington Post, dismissed the six-month drop-off in sales of iPhones – and slowing smartphone sales in general. Apple is now expected to release the iPhone 7 in September. Cook reckons smartphones are equivalent to TVs, in that people will own more than one, with consumers unable to resist buying them thanks to features such as Siri. In a swipe at Wall Street, which has punished Apple's stock price on the back of falling iPhone sales, Cook reckoned this is a long haul.