Google, Apple Race for Lead in Artificial Intelligence

Some of the biggest companies in the tech sector are making major bets on artificial intelligence (AI), also often called deep learning. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) lead in acquiring smaller companies, but there are plenty of big players. According to a report out Wednesday morning from IDC, worldwide revenues for cognitive and AI systems will rise 59.3% this year to $12.5 billion and global spending on AI will explode at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 54.4% through 2020 when revenues will top $46 billion. That's enough to get anyone's attention. Of this year's total spending, some $4.5 billion is targeted at cognitive applications that automatically learn, discover and make recommendations or predictions.