Apple buys secretive audio AI startup Q.ai

Apple has bought the secretive Israeli audio AI startup Q.ai, in a transaction that’s valued at around $2 billion. That would make it Apple’s second most expensive purchase in history, outdone only by its acquisition of Beats.

Q.ai is working on AI technology for audio, specifically applications of machine learning to help devices understand whispered speech and to enhance audio quality in challenging environments.

Last year, Q.ai filed a patent application for using “facial skin micromovements” to detect mouthed or spoken words, identify a person, and assess their emotions and heart rate.

All of Q.ai’s 100 employees, including CEO Aviad Maizels and co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya, will join Apple. Maizels previously founded PrimeSense, which Apple bought in 2013 and then used its technology for Face ID.

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