AI for Real

In a trend that has been gathering steam since 2011, some of the tech giants are leading the pack to put money down on private companies that have developed applications of AI technology. According to CB Insights, "Nearly 140 private companies working to advance artificial intelligence technologies have been acquired since 2011, with over 40 acquisitions taking place in 2016 alone (as of 10/7/2016). Corporate giants like Google, IBM, Yahoo, Intel, Apple and Salesforce, are competing in the race to acquire private AI companies…" It is rare to see the top echelons of tech so obviously agreeing on a technology trend, but their actions demonstrate that the long-term horizon for AI technologies is bright. The value in these types of technologies is in finding the right combination of functionality and application, and development is tricky. So it makes sense that tech companies are willing to shell out for a head start on core AI capabilities.