Samsung acquires artificial intelligence startup Viv Labs

Samsung is acquiring artificial intelligence (AI) platform developer Viv Labs that was cofounded by Siri creators- Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham in 2012.

Though the financial details have not been disclosed, South Korean Electronics giant says that it plans to integrate the San Jose-based company's AI platform dubbed Viv, into its Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable technology devices.

Notably, Viv will continue to operate as an independent company that will provide services to Samsung and its platforms.

"Viv brings in a unique technology to allow us to have an open system where any third-party service and content providers (can) add their services to our devices' interfaces," Rhee In-jong, Samsung's executive vice president, told Reuters in an interview.

Unlike with Siri, which Dag Kittlaus sold to Apple in 2010 before departing the company the next year, Kittlaus took an open development approach with Viv Labs, allowing third-party developers to contribute new functions and features to the Viv virtual-assistant service.

According to him, the company’s sale to Samsung, the world’s largest maker of smartphones, was a “fast-forward option” on his ultimate goal of helping the service reach “ubiquity.”

Samsung’s latest move falls in line with industry’s heightened interest in AI and virtual assistants. Google’s newly launched Pixel range claims to stand apart from others with ‘Assistant’ as its digital edge and AI capabilities.

The deal adds to Samsung’s recent acquisition list — which includes names like SmartThings, LoopPay, and Joyent to support mobile, internet of things and cloud services — as the company tries to stay competitive in the smartphone market.