Samsung Electronics Co. is consolidating its two North American research centers focused on artificial intelligence (AI) technology and has hired a former Apple Inc. executive to lead the new group, according to sources familiar with the matter. The internal announcement was made this week, coinciding with Apple’s own AI expansion. Samsung is establishing the North America AI Center, which will merge its teams in Toronto and Mountain View, California. The move is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and effectiveness within Samsung’s research division, as stated in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. The company has not disclosed the future plans for the two offices.
This recent development indicates that major technology companies are becoming increasingly assertive in the field of AI. For companies like Samsung and Apple, incorporating AI features in their devices is seen as a strategy to encourage consumers to upgrade their technology more frequently.
Murat Akbacak, a former executive at Apple, has been appointed as the head of this division. During his time at Apple, Akbacak played a crucial role in shaping the strategy for Siri, Apple’s personal digital assistant. His focus was on enhancing personalization, contextualization, and advancements in conversational and multimodal AI, as stated in the memo.
Representatives from Samsung and Apple have chosen not to provide any comments on this matter.
Apple’s recent AI announcement focused on enhancing Siri’s personalization and contextual understanding abilities. The company also introduced features to streamline notification organization across its various operating systems under the Apple Intelligence system. Unlike Samsung, which relies on Google Gemini technology, Apple predominantly developed its AI features internally, although it utilizes OpenAI technology for its chatbot functionality. Toronto has emerged as a hub for AI research and talent, with Canadian technologies contributing to facial recognition algorithms, Google’s Photos app, and smartphone voice recognition.