Apple is using a “secret office” in Cambridge, in the U.K., to make Siri smarter, claims a new report.
Located approximately five minutes walk from the city’s train station, the fewer-than-30-person office shows no outward sign of being an Apple office. It includes a number of employees from VocalIQ, a Cambridge University spinoff, which was acquired by Apple in 2015 for as much as $100 million.
[contextly_auto_sidebar]
VocalIQ developed software allowing computers and users to communicate using more natural speech patterns. According to a source speaking with Business Insider, this software hasn’t yet been baked into Siri, although “obviously Apple have got it for a reason.”
Apple appears to have an affinity for places named Cambridge when it comes to honing its Siri technology. Back in 2014, Apple assumed control of a building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it also houses a small team working on the future of Siri.
Provided that Business Insider‘s report is correct about the U.K.-based Siri HQ, it will be interesting to hear whether it stays where it currently is, or gets moved to London at some point. Back in September, it was reported that Apple is planning to consolidate its U.K. offices by moving around 1,400 staffers to a massive new facility located in the iconic Battersea Power Station.
Given that the choice of a Cambridge office is reportedly predicated on being close to the train station, and therefore easy to get to for people commuting from London, it wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to hear that Apple decides to bring it closer to home — particularly as Siri becomes a bigger and bigger part of Apple’s ecosystem.
Them again, since Jony Ive has an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, maybe it’ll want to keep a base there. You know, just in case he wants to drop in for a quick lecture or a pint at the student union!
