Smarter – Tutor Dasher

Apple is reportedly on the verge of acquiring the “talent and technology” of computer vision startup Prompt AI. According to CNBC, the deal is almost finalized; Prompt AI’s leadership held a meeting on Thursday to inform employees about the agreement and discuss the next steps: Leadership at Prompt informed employees of the impending transaction at a company-wide meeting on Thursday. They mentioned that those who choose not to join Apple will receive reduced pay and are encouraged to apply for open positions at the company. This information was accessed by CNBC from an audio recording of the meeting. […] Investors will receive some compensation from the deal, but it was stated in the meeting that they will not be fully compensated. Prompt employees were advised not to mention Apple until further notice while looking for other job opportunities or updating their friends and family. The meeting made it clear that Prompt’s technology and a significant portion of its staff will soon be part of Apple. Prompt’s main product, Seemour, utilizes AI in conjunction with security cameras to identify specific individuals, pets, and objects in a household. It sends alerts and text descriptions of unusual activities and can even answer questions about what is happening in front of the camera. CNBC highlighted that its advanced neural architecture can process millions of pixels in a fraction of a second, enabling accurate recognition of family members and pets while continuously enhancing accuracy through on-device learning. CNBC reported that the Seemour app will be removed from the App Store (which seems to have already occurred), and users will be informed that their data will be deleted and their privacy protected. While Apple typically acquires entire companies, "acqui-hires" like this one have become more common among tech giants in the AI sector. It allows them to bring in talent and technology without the intense regulatory scrutiny that a full acquisition might attract from the Federal Trade Commission. The exact terms of the Apple/Prompt deal have not been disclosed yet, so the amount Apple will pay to acquire Prompt’s staff and technology remains unknown. However, once the deal is finalized, more details should emerge. Apple is not the only company following this strategy. Microsoft paid around $650 million last year to license technology from Inflection AI while also hiring most of its staff, including co-founder Mustafa Suleyman. Google acquired Character.AI in 2024 and Windsurf in 2025. Meta invested in Scale AI and hired its CEO, Alexandr Wang, along with key team members, while Amazon made a similar move for technology from Adept. This deal could be positive news for Prompt employees making the transition, as the company has been struggling to establish a sustainable business model. Prompt had recently attracted interest from xAI and Neuralink, two companies owned by Elon Musk.

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