The state of AI adoption in media - Digiday

The duopoly has gobbled up artificial intelligence startups, and it's hungry for more. Research released earlier this month by CB Insights found it acquired 34 AI startups in the first quarter of 2017, which more than doubled the total acquired during the same period last year and easily surpassed the previous high of 28, which came in the third quarter of last year. Last week, Axios reported that Google has launched an AI-specific venture fund, one that's overseen by engineers rather than venture capitalists, to hand out investments up to $10 million. The big picture • Google's parent, Alphabet, has acquired 11 AI startups over the past five years, the most of any public company. Apple is next, with seven, followed by Facebook and Intel, with five apiece.