Apple Acquires Artificial Intelligence Company Xnor.ai

Apple has purchased Seattle startup Xnor.ai, a company that specializes in on-device artificial intelligence, reports GeekWire, citing sources with knowledge of the acquisition.

Apple is said to have paid around $200 million for Xnor.ai, and while both Apple and Xnor.ai have declined to comment on the potential acquisition, much of the Xnor.ai website has been taken offline and GeekWire says that a move from the Xnor.ai offices is taking place in Seattle.

applexnoracquisition
Xnor.ai's technology lets companies run deep learning algorithms locally on devices that include smartphones and wearables rather than requiring these computations to be done in the cloud. Xnor promised complete privacy of data along with reduced memory load and power demands.


Given Apple's deep interest in personal privacy, an acquisition of technology for handling AI on device is unsurprising. Apple has, in the past, purchased other similar AI companies, such as Turi.

Xnor.ai's work could potentially be incorporated into future iPhones, improving Siri and other AI and machine learning-based tasks that are done on device.

Update: Apple confirmed the acquisition of Xnor.ai to Axios with its standard acquisition statement: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Popular Stories

apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...

Top Rated Comments

Archmage Avatar
71 months ago
Well this probably explains why Xnor.ai terminated their contract for person detection with Wyze
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
71 months ago
Wonder if Apple told them "dump Wyze first, then we have a deal"
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
71 months ago

Xnor.ai's technology lets companies run deep learning algorithms locally on devices that include smartphones and wearables rather than requiring these computations to be done in the cloud.
Now we're going to see why Apple has spent so many resources in their industry leading A-Series chips.

"I don't need this A13 performance to open Instagram" is going to look pretty silly. Apple has been building this technology for the larger picture.


If ya can't beat em, buy em...
Yeah, I'm sure Apple was shaking in their boots at competing with a $200M AI startup.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cubedweller Avatar
71 months ago

I love the headline "Apple Acquires...."

Then in the article: "Apple is said to have paid around $200 million for Xnor.ai, and while both Apple and Xnor.ai have declined to comment on the potential acquisition, much of the Xnor.ai website has been taken offline and GeekWire says that a move from the Xnor.ai offices is taking place in Seattle."

Hey Macrumors editor in chief! That's what we (in the news industry) call a "rumor based on speculation".

I know times are getting really tough for writers/publishers... believe me I know. But please ensure your headlines honestly reflect the nature of the story. It's a standard we all rely on for ethical reporting. (This was likely an error, but one that should not have happened given the very nature of the content on this site.)
You realize that Apple has confirmed via Axios, right? Maybe it's time you get off your soapbox.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LiveM Avatar
71 months ago

BTW, AI is NO smarter than whoever is coding the algorithms !
That’s like saying you will never be smarter than your parents. AI is proven to do things, such as making up languages to communicate with other AI that are more efficient that what they are programmed to use. They can go way beyond what their minders can monitor.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twolf2919 Avatar
71 months ago

Probably intent to bolster their Siri offerings.

There's a significant gap that Siri needs to pick up on to keep up to date featurewise with Amazon's or Google's AI work.

I don't think Apple has done a terrible job, but it's clear that on their own they haven't quite the same level of success as their competitors. Likely this will be a big injection of technology, and smart people.
I'm the biggest Apple fan, but even I have to say Apple has done a terrible job with Siri. Not so much with its recognition abilities - which I view on par with Google and Alexa - but with Siri without a network. I mean, come on!, why do I need a network connection for Siri to be able to change the volume on my iPhone Nothing more frustrating than using APPLE AirPods - which need Siri for pretty much everything - and not being able to do the most basic things without a network.

I hope this acquisition is an indication that Apple is finally getting off its a$$ and - after, what, a decade? - makes more of Siri available on-device.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)