AAPL.. Report: Apple Acquired An Artificial Intelligence Startup

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple Inc. AAPL has acquired Emotient, a company that makes use of artificial intelligence to read a user's emotions by examining their facial expressions. It is not immediately clear what prompted Apple to acquire the start-up, the report noted. Emotient previously sold its products and services to advertisers to help them assess viewer reactions to advertisements. The company's technology can also be used by doctors to interpret a patient's level of pain. An Apple spokesperson confirmed the acquisition with The Wall Street Journal, noting that the company "buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." It is also unclear the price tag that Apple paid for the acquisition. Shares of Apple were trading lower by nearly 3 percent mid-Thursday afternoon at $97.78.