Last week, when Apple arranged an in-person summit on AI at Steve Jobs Theatre, the tech world was anticipating certain big announcements to arrive. But it turned out to be a team building exercise. While Google, Microsoft and others are vying with each other in the AI search space, Apple seems to be lost in the race. 

However, three years ago, the scenario was very different with Apple at the forefront in the AI race in terms of acquisition. Back then, Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft were involved in a stiff competition that led to aggressive acquisitions of AI startups. 

The iPhone maker also showed a deep interest in search engine technology. In late 2018, Apple bought ‘Laserlike’, a startup founded by a trio of former Google search engineers to escalate developing its web search engine. Since the acquisition, no update has been made about their service. In fact, the company has no presence whatsoever on the internet apart from a few news articles, an inactive website and a LinkedIn page. 

The acquisition battle was not restricted to search engines back then. CB Insights data showed a total of 635 AI acquisitions happened between 2010 and 2019. Leading the charge was Apple, with 20 acquisitions since the 2010 purchase of ‘Siri’. The tech giant acquired ‘Novauris Technologies’ and ‘Voysis’ to improve speech recognition in its voice assistant platform. Furthermore, Apple bought ‘Perceptio’ and ‘RealFace’ to boost the development of its Apple ID technology. 

Is Apple Serious about Search?

Fast forward to November 2022, a report by The Information painted a gloomy picture regarding Apple’s in-house search engine capabilities. It conveyed that an Apple search engine—if it launches at all—cannot realistically happen within the next four years.

The reason why Apple is taking its own sweet time to develop seems to have much to do with the $18~$20 billion per year it receives from Google to use it as a default search engine in Safari. 

Apple currently uses the Google search engine to generate data for Apple teams developing apps that use natural language processing for Apple News articles recommendations. One of the team’s immediate priorities is said to be improving ‘Spotlight’ so that it can handle “100 times more” queries than it does at present.

The technology will get in shape over the years and it seems that even if Apple chooses to stay at the rear, it might not be a bad thing after all. 

Stayed Out For Good

As the competition heightens in the search arena, it could put Apple in the driver’s seat for selecting its preferred search partner. As Google senses a greater level of rivalry, it could be compelled to offer Apple even more lucrative deals for securing its coveted digital real estate. Alternatively, there could be a bidding war with Microsoft, who may view the opportunity to join forces with Apple as a means to gain competitive edge in the search market. 

Although February’s Apple AI summit didn’t make any serious waves on the AI front, it does show Apple is working to hold in-person events again following a hiatus of a few years. While the company’s ChatGPT competitor remains shrouded in secrecy, speculations are being made about Apple unveiling its player in a much larger event, such as WWDC, in the summer. As the landscape continues to evolve, all eyes are on Apple for at least the next four months.