Samsung to acquire Artificial Intelligence platform Viv Labs

Moneycontrol Bureau

With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), consumers now desire an interaction with technology that is conversational, personalised and contextual to everyday lives. Betting on this desire is Samsung which on Thursday announced that it will acquire Viv Labs — an open AI platform that lets third-party developers use and build conversational assistants and integrate a natural language-based interface into applications and services.

The acquisition, however, is subject to customary closing conditions, Samsung said in a statement without disclosing the deal value.

The Viv acquisition will allow Samsung to offer customers new service experiences, including one that simplifies user interfaces, understands the context of the user and offers the user the most appropriate and convenient suggestions and recommendations.

Viv was founded by AI experts Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham. As part of the acquisition, the founding team will work closely with Samsung’s Mobile Communications business, but continue to operate independently under its existing leadership.

“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,” said Injong Rhee, CTO of the Mobile Communications business at Samsung Electronics.

“At Viv, we’re building the simplest way for anyone to talk to devices and services everywhere. We see a future that is decidedly beyond apps — where you can get what you need quickly and easily no matter where you are, or what device you are near,” Viv Co-founder and Chief Executive, Dag Kittlaus said in a statement.