Apple has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup working on artificial intelligence technology for audio, reports Reuters. Details of the deal haven’t been announced.
Q.ai’s founding team will join Apple, including CEO Aviad Maizels, who previously founded three-dimensional sensing firm PrimeSense and sold it to Apple in 2013. The PrimeSense deal eventually helped Apple move away from fingerprint sensors on its iPhones and toward facial recognition technology, notes Reuters.
In a statement to Reuters, Maizels said “joining Apple opens extraordinary possibilities for pushing boundaries and realizing the full potential of what we’ve created, and we’re thrilled to bring these experiences to people everywhere.”
Maizels founded Q.ai in 2022, shortly after leaving Apple, together with Dr. Yonatan Wexler (CTO), formerly of OrCam, and artificial intelligence researcher Dr. Avi Barliya. The startup has operated largely in stealth mode, and little is publicly known about its product.
According to Apple, Q.ai develops innovative machine learning applications designed to transform audio and communication experiences, including technology that enables whisper-like speech and improves audio performance in challenging environments.
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