Following Google’s detailing of further plans for its Assistant this past week, Samsung has announced that it’ll acquire a “next generation” Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform called Viv and its creator"s Viv Labs.
Injong Rhee, Chief Technology Officer of the Mobile Communications business at Samsung Electronics, said:
“Unlike other existing AI-based services, Viv has a sophisticated natural language understanding, machine learning capabilities and strategic partnerships that will enrich a broader service ecosystems. Viv was built with both consumers and developers in mind. This dual focus is also what attracted us to Viv as an ideal candidate to integrate with Samsung home appliances, wearables and more, as the paradigm of how we interact with technology shifts to intelligent interfaces and voice control.”
With the acquisition, Samsung hopes to “unlock and offer new service experiences” for customers, including contextual and appropriate suggestions and recommendations. The company believes it can also help simplify user interfaces.
For developers, Samsung says that the Viv platform will allow them “to teach the system how to create new applications or to use existing applications, building an open ecosystem of intelligence that is greater than the sum of its parts and gets smarter every day”.
For a preview of the Viv platform, check out the demo by Viv co-founder, Dag Kittlaus:
Viv Labs was co-founded in 2012 by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Chris Brigham. You might have heard of these guys before; they sold Siri to Apple in 2010. As part of the acquisition, the founding team will work closely with Samsung’s Mobile Communications business but continue to operate independently under its existing leadership.
Source: Samsung