Apple buys secretive audio AI startup Q.ai | Infinium-tech
Apple has bought secretive Israeli audio AI startup Q.ai in a transaction that values it at about $2 billion. It would be Apple’s second most expensive purchase in history, surpassed 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 enhance audio quality in challenging environments.
Last year, Q.ai filed a patent application to use “facial skin micromovements” to detect mouth movements or spoken words, identify a person, and assess their emotions and heart rate.
All 100 of Q.ai’s employees, including CEO Aviad Maizels and co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi Baralia, will join Apple. Magels previously founded PrimeSense, which Apple bought in 2013 and then used its technology for Face ID.
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