Samsung now has a horse in the smartphone assistant race.
The Korean company on Thursday announced the acquisition of Viv Labs, the California-based company with a specialty in artificial intelligence. Viv is perhaps most well known for its development of Apple’s digital helper, Siri.
Samsung said the Viv Labs team will work closely with its Mobile Communications team, but will continue to function independently under its existing leadership.
Using Viv’s technology, Samsung said it is hoping to offer its customers a new service experience via an assistant that simplifies user interfaces, understands context and offers the most relevant and convenient suggestions. The smartphone giant said it is planning to incorporate Viv’s AI technology across its ecosystem of devices and services.
“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 ecosystem,” Samsung Electronics’ CTO of Mobile Communications Injong Rhee said. “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.”
Viv co-founder and CEO Dag Kittlaus said the company in particular is focused on a “future that is decidedly beyond apps.”
Samsung’s announcement comes just days after Google unveiled it’s own new AI assistant during its “Made by Google” launch event.
Like the technology favored by Samsung and Viv, Google said it’s Assistant utilizes both artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer contextual assistance and recommendations. Google’s Assistant was also built to talk to the user in fluid two-way conversation and can interact with third-party apps to get things done.
Google said it’s Assistant technology will be baked into its new Pixel smartphone and Google Home system.
