Apple acquires Israeli audio AI startup Q.ai, reportedly for $1.6 billion
Apple on Thursday said it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup working on artificial intelligence technology for voice.
Apple did not disclose terms of the deal for Q.ai, which is backed by venture capital firms Matter Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, Exor and GV, formerly known as Google Ventures. The deal values the startup at about $1.6 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Apple hasn’t said how it will use its Q.ai technology, but said the startup is working on new machine learning applications to help devices understand whispered speech and improve audio in challenging environments.
Q.ai filed for a patent last year to use “micro-motions of facial skin” to detect spoken or spoken words, identify a person and assess their emotions, heart rate, breathing rate and other indicators.
The companies said 100 of Q.ai’s employees, including CEO Aviad Maizels and co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya, will join Apple.
Maizels founded three-dimensional sensing company PrimeSense and sold it to Apple in 2013. The PrimeSense deal finally helped Apple switch from fingerprint sensors to facial recognition technology in its iPhones.
“Joining Apple offers extraordinary opportunities to push boundaries and unlock the full potential of our creations, and we’re excited to bring these experiences to people around the world,” Maizels said in a statement.
Apple is adding new artificial intelligence features to its AirPods headphones, and last year it introduced technology that allows them to translate conversations between languages.
Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said in a statement that Q.ai is “an extraordinary company pioneering new and creative ways to use imaging and machine learning.” “We are very excited to acquire the company under Aviad’s leadership and even more excited for what is to come.”
