Exploding phones ensured Samsung lost out to Apple during the adjacent launches of their newest smartphones, and Samsung could be emphasizing big software upgrades to divert attention from the much-publicized failure of the Galaxy Note 7. Directly buying out the company that developed Siri, one of Apple's iconic mobile features, is indeed a bold competitive move, and Viv touts even better functionality than its parent tech. A key differentiation point for Viv is that it purports to be developer friendly. This is significant as apps for digital assistants will likely be a key method for driving use going forward. It appears that digital assistants are becoming table stakes for consumer-facing digital platforms, with Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple all offering one. This suggests that Samsung's acquisition is a strategic move to insure it stays with the pack.

Samsung is all out to join the artificial intelligence (AI) race as the South Korean giant has agreed to acquire Viv Labs, the startup behind Viv an AI assistant system which is "radically simplifying the world by providing an intelligent interface to everything." Interestingly, Viv was co-founded by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham, the creators of Apple's Siri. The trio founded Viv in 2012, which is an intelligent assistant and an open platform wherein any developer can add more knowledge and capabilities to it. Viv was unveiled at Disrupt NY tech conference in New York back in May. The news about Samsung acquiring Viv Labs was confirmed by TechCrunch, and also through a blog post by Kittlaus.

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it will buy Viv Labs, founded by the creators of Apple's Siri service

Samsung said Thursday it was buying a prominent US artificial intelligence (AI) start-up founded by the creators of Siri -- the voice-based digital assistant used on the iPhones of arch-rival Apple. The South Korean giant said the acquisition of California-based Viv Labs would bolster voice-based services across the full range of its electronics products that include smartphones, TVs, refrigerators and washing machines. Samsung offered no details regarding the cost or financing of the deal. Viv Labs was co-founded in 2012 by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham who had previously created, and then sold, Siri to Apple. Rhee In-Jong, the chief technology officer at Samsung's mobile unit, said the acquisition would provide AI-based voice assistance services its customers can use across all Samsung devices and products.

Samsung has agreed to acquire Viv, the next-gen AI assistant that was developed by Siri co-founders Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer. TechCrunch reports that it will continue to operate as an independent company, providing services to Samsung and its platforms. Viv made numerous headlines earlier this year, when the team demonstrated the power of its assistant. In one scenario, it was able to successfully order a pizza over the Internet customized with toppings from several employees with a few simple voice commands. Here are some excerpts from Kittlaus' Medium post regarding the acquisition: Samsung, as you surely know, is the market leader in smart devices across a wide range of use cases and industries.

Samsung Electronics Co. SSNHZ 0.00 % said Thursday that it will buy U.S. artificial intelligence company Viv Labs Inc., as the South Korean smartphone giant turns to the creators of Apple Inc. AAPL 0.04 % 's Siri service to beef up its own mobile software and services. The deal, for an undisclosed amount, is Samsung's fourth U.S. technology company acquisition in a little more than two years, underscoring the technology player's new willingness to look outside the company to spur innovation, particularly in areas like software, where it has traditionally been weak. The aim for Samsung is to pack its phones with more eye-popping features to help its premium devices stand out from a pack of competitors, including Apple's iPhones. After its acquisition last year of mobile payments startup LoopPayfor about 160 million, Samsung adopted the Burlington, Mass.-based company's technology to launch Samsung Pay, a mobile payment service that rivals Apple Pay. Samsung is looking to follow a similar model with San Jose, Calif.-based Viv Labs, which was founded four years ago by a team that includes Siri co-creators Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer.

Dag Kittlaus wants you to imagine buying a consumer electronic device in the near future. You take it out the box, plug it into the wall, unlock it with a biometric thumbprint, and then the device comes to life. "Hi, nice to meet you," it says, before walking you through its setup via natural conversation. That scenario isn't too far away, according to Kittlaus, who used today's TechCrunch Disrupt in Brooklyn as part of a coming-out-party for Viv, a new voice-activated digital assistant. After three round of venture capital (VC) funding and more than a year in development, Viv is ready for primetime.

Rob Marvin is the Assistant Editor of PCMag's Business section. He was previously an editor at SD Times covering software, managing social media, and writing narrative-driven features on any offbeat story or trend he could find. He graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Rob is also an unabashed nerd who does occasional entertainment blogging on movies and TV, reads epic fantasy and historical fiction, and enjoys having his heart routinely broken by the...

From Siri creator Dag Kittlaus comes Viv, a product that aims to be the next generation personal assistant. Kittlaus sat down with USA TODAY's Ed Baig to talk about Viv and where he thinks its headed. BROOKLYN, NEW YORK-- Siri's cofounder gave the public its first look at Viv, his artificial intelligence-powered digital assistant that aims to lap rivals with its understanding of human conversation. Dag Kittlaus took the stage at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference here to demonstrate his latest baby in public for the first time. Viv aims to go beyond -- and take on -- Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, Microsoft's Cortana and the voice inside Google. Kittlaus is CEO of Viv Labs and if he can pull off its bold vision, Viv (pronounced Viv as in Vivian) will be a personalized assistant that will be available to you on any device and powered by every service.

Being Android enthusiasts, we don't spend much time playing around with Siri, but we may all get to make use of the virtual assistant's successor. According to The Washington Post, Viv Labs, which was co-founded by Siri creators Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham, is preparing to showcase its next generation AI assistant on Monday. The project has been more than three years in the making, and unlike some other assistant platforms, it is planned as an open project that will work across multiple platforms. Although according to the report, Google and Facebook have already tried to acquire the company, so things might change in the future. What's particularly interesting about Vivi Labs' vision is that the company is looking to bypass the traditional way that consumers access information, opting for direct integration with services rather than simply offering up suggestions.