Apple Rumored to Develop AI Chatbot, Boosting Market Cap by 71 Billion USD

A new report from Bloomberg reveals that Apple is making efforts to catch up in the AI-generated text race with a new AI chatbot called “Apple GPT,” built on the foundation of a large language model named “Ajax.” This is seen as Apple’s endeavor to keep up with other tech giants that are currently leading in this competition, including Microsoft Bing Chat, Google Bard, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Significantly, the financial community has reacted positively to this information. News of Apple’s pursuit of next-generation artificial intelligence ambitions has propelled the company’s stock price to surge by 2.3%, reaching a new all-time high in yesterday’s trading session, adding an additional 71 billion USD to Apple’s market capitalization.

The increase in Apple’s market capitalization in a single session yesterday is equivalent to the total market capitalization of major companies such as Micron, Waste Management, and even surpasses the combined market cap of 390 other companies in the S&P 500 index.

This also reflects the confidence of investors in the world’s most valuable company, which has been relatively quiet about investing in AI-generated text until now. The trend of investing in AI is being fiercely contested by their competitors, including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta, all vying for the leading position. Microsoft’s stock also rose by 6% last Tuesday when they announced a $30 subscription plan for their AI toolkit.

According to Bloomberg’s report, Apple is now quietly developing its own AI-generated text tools to catch up with OpenAI and other rivals, given the remarkable success of OpenAI since last year.

Currently, Apple’s job recruitment page includes a dedicated section for hiring experienced engineers in machine learning infrastructure, deep learning, reinforcement learning, natural language processing, and other speech recognition technologies. In total, there are approximately 179 job positions listed on Apple’s website.

The report also reveals that Apple’s efforts in AI development have become more apparent in recent months, with several teams within the company collaborating on the Ajax project. Part of this effort includes addressing privacy concerns related to AI.

During a meeting in May, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned that there are still “some issues that need to be addressed” regarding AI technology and that the company will deploy AI features in its products “thoughtfully.”

However, according to Bloomberg’s report, Apple still lacks a clear and decisive strategy for bringing AI technology to consumers, except for some minor improvements in image search, Apple Maps, and Siri for iPhone users.

As for Apple’s new AI chatbot, Bloomberg’s sources state that it is essentially a replica of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Alphabet’s Bard, with a more streamlined design, which currently means it is not yet intended for mainstream users. The report indicates that Apple is currently focused on improving large language models to serve as the foundation for their AI ambitions in the future.