Snapchat Inc. is in the process of acquiring personalized search app Vurb, according to people familiar with matter. The Venice entertainment app maker would spend more than 100 million in cash and stock to purchase the San Francisco start-up, said a source unauthorized to speak publicly about the deal. The transaction hasn't been finalized, multiple sources said. Vurb co-founder and Chief Executive Bobby Lo would receive 75 million over several years -- separate from the initial purchase price -- if he stays at Snapchat. The tech news website the Information first reported details of the deal Monday.

The use of robots is increasingly becoming inevitable in our daily lives. From social and domestic bots like Alexia – Amazon Echo to financial robo-advisors, Robots exist in real life and no longer synonymous with science fiction alone. The nature of work and the role of human in getting work done is constantly being redefined, as we see more machines take on, and even getting better and more efficient that human in routine task execution. Robots are always related with industrial applications, but have gradually crept into our offices, banks, homes, roads, labs and even hospitals. Below is an illustration of broad application of robots.

Dating app Bumble just added a new premium tier that lets users access three special features. Bumble's first paid offerings, the features allow users to reconnect with previous matches, extend the 24-hour time limit on matches, and get new matches without swiping. All of the new features will be available as part of Bumble Boost, the app's 10-a-month subscription service. Formally called BeeLine, Rematch and Busy Bee, Bumble's new features are in line with premium features from other dating apps like Tinder. BeeLine will automatically match you with people who have already liked your profile.

This is part of a series on Artificial Intelligence. If you are catching it for the first time I'd recommend that you start here where I introduce the idea and provide some instrumental background. In the last article, I talked about the usefulness of thinking about artificial intelligence in its chapters. True, you could start biting this elephant anywhere and anyhow. The phases approach is just my recommended way of understanding, with better clarity, the goals and ultimate intentions of AI.

Just two months after announcing the arrival of iOS 10 this fall at the 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple is now rolling out the sixth beta of its upcoming mobile operating system. Just last week, the Cupertino-headquartered tech company distributed the iOS 10 beta 5 to developers and beta testers for evaluation, so releasing the sixth beta today comes as a surprise. The iOS 10 beta 6, which is actually iOS beta 5 for public non-developer users that are part of the Apple Software Beta Program, gives developers access to a more stable operating system, since this one comes with fixes for a number of bugs present in the previous releases. For example, the bug that was causing the sticker pack apps to be blank has been repaired, so developers can now load and view the sticker packs. In addition, MacRumors has learned that the bug affecting iPad docks has been remedied as well. The newly released iOS 10 dev beta also brings an improvement to Siri.

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.