Dive Brief:
- Microsoft shared more details about its AI research effort, Microsoft Research AI, during an event in London Wednesday. With an eye towards faster AI integration, the research and incubation hub is taking on the more challenging issues standing in the way of product and service advances, according to a company blog.
- Microsoft said Research AI unites about 7,500 computer scientists, researchers and engineers. The group was originally announced last September.
- Earlier this week, Microsoft announced Presentation Translator, an AI-based program that translates and subtitles live presentations.
Dive Insight:
The race to invest in AI products has companies like Google, Microsoft, Intel and Apple investing big, and the potential payoff is huge.
As they chase the next big advancement in AI, companies are also realizing the advantages of uniting disparate parts of the business to work on AI. Focusing on things like machine learning and natural language processing separately may have worked well before, but as these technologies increasingly interrelate, companies are finding advantages in pulling them together to help create a more intelligent place.
Meanwhile, monster investments in AI continue. Earlier this week, Google acquired India-based AI startup Halli Labs. Google's parent company Alphabet has had the most AI acquisitions so far, ahead of Microsoft, Apple, Intel and Salesforce, according to recent data from research firm Quid.
Just how big is the AI potential? Research from PwC recently predicted GDP will be 14% higher in 2030 because of artificial intelligence, injecting $15.7 trillion into the global economy.
