https://tech.newstatesman.com/business/apple-xnorai

Apple’s reported $200 million acquisition of Seattle-based firm Xnor.ai last month makes it the latest in a growing number of companies that are targeting the opportunities associated with artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing. The acquisition will help it challenge the leading cloud service providers, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft and Google, all of which are focused on harnessing the benefits of AI and edge computing, and which compete against Apple in several product and service segments – including streaming media, virtual assistants, smart speakers and tablets.

Edge computing refers to the use of computer processing, data storage and analytics capabilities close to the places where data is collected and where digital content and applications are consumed. The goal of edge computing is to enable and support digital services and applications that require high levels of performance and low latency (i.e. the amount of time it takes for a packet of digital data to travel from one point to another). They include things such as autonomous vehicles, high definition (HD) video and immersive content.