Artificial intelligence start-ups in demand

Tech giants aim to reinforce their leads in AI or make up for lost ground. Tech giants seeking to reinforce their leads in artificial intelligence or make up for lost ground have been the most aggressive buyers. Alphabet's Google has acquired 11 AI start-ups since 2012, the most of any firm, followed by Apple, Facebook and Intel, respectively, according to CB Insights. The companies declined to comment on their acquisition strategies. A spokesman for Apple did confirm the company's recent purchase of Lattice Data, a start-up that specialises in working with unstructured data.