Uber has acquired Geometric Intelligence, a small two-year-old artificial intelligence startup that competes with the likes of Google and Facebook in the emerging world of artificial intelligence.
In accordance to bringing its vision to reality, of creating a fleet of vehicles that can make the most complex decision without the help of a driver, Uber has brought in the New York based firm that is redefining the boundaries of machine learning through innovative, patent-pending technique. The startup was founded by a group of noted AI scientists and leading machine learning pioneers, including University of Cambridge professors of information engineering Zoubin Ghahramani and New York University psychologist Gary Marcus.
The AI startup consisting of a small group of 15 employees, will now be joining the new Uber AI Labs in San Francisco, serving as the vast central AI lab for the ride-sharing mobile app. Though, Ghahramani, the man responsible for the startup’s core technology, will remain at Cambridge, working for Uber.
Uber has been doing lots of research recently on AI machine learning. In order to realize its vision, Uber’s cars need to get lot more smart and brains. This is where the new dedicated cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning lab comes in.
Uber already has a research team in Pittsburgh, but they are focused only on dealing issues related to autonomous driving. The newly formed AI core team will be looking at AI more broadly, with a strong focus on research which is likely to have a profound impact across a wide range of potential applications, including route management.
Uber is following the lead some of the tech world’s biggest companies that are betting hard on AI and its myriad possibilities, while in the hunt of investing a significant amount of resources into the emerging technology.