New | Apple hires Carnegie Mellon AI academic in push into machine learning

Apple hired a prominent artificial intelligence researcher from Carnegie Mellon University as it seeks to regain lost ground against competitors such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com in machine learning.

Russ Salakhutdinov said on Monday that he’s joining the Cupertino, California-based company as a director of AI research, in addition to his role at the university. He posted a link to an Apple job application page seeking machine learning specialists.

Apple is seeking scientists with “experience in Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Optimization, and/or Data Mining,” it said in the job listing.

The iPhone maker has been on an acquisition spree to beef up its artificial intelligence capabilities over the past 12 months, buying at least a half-dozen startups including Seattle-based Turi Inc.

Apple’s penchant for secrecy has burdened efforts to improve AI offerings and hire the best talent. That’s because researchers in the field like to publish their findings, something Apple has frowned upon in the past.