Photo Credit: Pao Pattarapol
Apple has acquired Q.ai, a heretofore little-discussed AI audio startup that says it’s poised to revolutionize communication.
Thus far, the buyout – and its reportedly $1.6 billion price tag – has to some extent flown under the radar. That’s presumably due in part to the focus on Apple’s latest earnings report (including record-high services revenue of $30.01 billion) and, on the opposite end of the transaction, Q.ai’s minimal digital footprint.
“Building something really cool. Can’t talk about it. Literally,” Q.ai co-founder and CEO Aviad Maizels’ LinkedIn experience description reads.
Even more interestingly, the Tel Aviv-based startup’s “about” section spells out that the company has “found a way to take it [communication] to the next level enabling super high bandwidth, unprecedented privacy, accessibility, multilingualism and much more.”
“Speak volumes without saying a word,” the same text continues, with Q.ai’s detail-light website indicating that the business is striving to “craft a new kind of quiet.”
Put differently, the just-sold entity is apparently working on AI audio/communication tech, but particulars are few and far between. (Of course, we’ll have to wait for information pertaining to said tech’s potential music-side overlap.)
However, Q.ai last year filed a patent application concerning “facial skin micromovements,” and specifically the ability to analyze them en route to detecting emotions, mouthed or spoken words, and more, per Reuters. Additionally, Maizels in 2013 sold PrimeSense to Apple; the iPhone developer proceeded to leverage the involved offerings into enhanced facial recognition capabilities across its devices.
Another piece of the puzzle: Maizels’ other active roles at distinct companies. Most notably, the professional in 2016 founded (and remains executive chairman of) Bionaut Labs, which specializes in “remote-controlled micro-robots revolutionizing the treatment of central nervous system disorders.”
Plus, Maizels is the founder of NewMoo, a molecular farming startup focused on growing “real cheese, inside plants.”
Separately, Google Ventures (GV), having backed Q.ai at the seed (in 2022) and Series A (2023) stages, provided a bit more insight.
According to GV, the startup’s been operating in stealth from the get-go – meaning it’s been developing its products and services for about four years – and the buyout marks “Apple’s second-largest acquisition in its history.”
Regarding the hard numbers behind the sale, Reuters pointed to an overall valuation of $1.6 billion; the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources, placed the deal’s size at “close to $2bn.”
Lastly, Q.ai’s reportedly 100-person team is set to join Apple; this includes Maizels as well as fellow co-founders Avi Barliya and Yonatan Wexler. The latter individual came aboard Q.ai in early 2022, after 11 years with OrCam, which harnesses AI “to compensate for lost visual abilities” via “a discrete wearable camera.”
