Apple buys privacy-minded AI startup Silk Labs

Apple has been on a AI-centric hiring spree this year, having lured over Google's former AI chief to head a new team combining its core machine learning and Siri groups as well as numerous software engineers. Somewhere along the way it also quietly acquired privacy-centric AI startup Silk Labs, per The Information. The company released a crowdfunded smart home monitoring camera back in 2016 which showed off its lightweight AI tech. Dubbed Sense, the inconspicuous device included facial and object recognition tech that could recognize multiple faces and even pets. It could also play music based on the user's taste and pair with third-party gadgets like Sonos speakers and smart light bulbs.