Dive Brief:
- Apple said it purchased VocalIQ Ltd., an artificial intelligence startup based in the UK, the Wall Street Journal reports.
- VocalIQ has been working on ways to improve computers’ ability to understand speech and to “speak” more naturally back to them.
- Apple is likely looking to the company to help it make iPhone users’ interactions with Siri more natural.
Dive Insight:
An Apple spokesman confirmed the deal but details were not disclosed.
The acquisition could help Apple improve digital assistant Siri, which has been the topic of user complaints. VocalIQ employs artificial intelligence to help computers better understand commands and their context.
Several tech companies are working on ways to use voice commands to allow consumers to control a wide range of devices. Voice-recognition technology has been steadily improving over the years, but experts say there is still a long way to go in perfecting it.
