Apple in talks to acquire Prompt AI talent and tech

Core Insights - Apple is in advanced discussions to acquire technology and key employees from computer vision firm Prompt AI, focusing on transferring Prompt's engineering team and software assets rather than a full acquisition [1][5] - Prompt's leadership informed staff about the transaction during an all-hands meeting, advising them to keep the situation confidential while seeking other roles [2] - Investors will receive some payment from the transaction but will not be fully compensated [3] Company Overview - Prompt AI was founded in 2023 and secured $5 million in a seed funding round led by AIX and Abstract Ventures [3] - The company is co-founded by Tete Xiao, CEO, and Trevor Darrell, president, both with strong academic backgrounds in computer science and artificial intelligence [4] - Prompt's primary product, Seemour, connects to home security cameras and adds computer vision features, but the business model has failed, leading to plans to retire the product [4][5] Industry Context - The discussions reflect a trend where large tech firms acquire small AI teams and assets to enhance existing products, with such transactions generally being smaller than recent high-profile deals in the sector [6]