Apple acquires Israeli audio AI startup Q.ai

By Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO, ⁠Jan 29 (Reuters) - Apple ⁠on ‍Thursday said it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.

Apple did not disclose terms ‍of the deal for Q.ai, which was backed by venture capital ​firms Matter Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, Exor and GV, formerly known as ​Google Ventures. The deal valued the startup at about $1.6 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Apple did not say how it will use Q.ai's technology but ​said the startup has worked on new applications of machine learning to help devices understand whispered speech and to enhance audio in challenging ​environments.

Q.ai last year filed a patent application to use "facial skin micromovements" to detect words mouthed or ‌spoken, identify a person and assess their emotions, heart rate, respiration rate and other indicators.

Q.ai's 100 employees, including CEO Aviad ​Maizels and co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi ⁠Barliya, will join Apple, the companies said.

Maizels 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.

In a statement, 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.”

Apple has been putting new AI features into its AirPods earbuds, last year introducing technology that allows them to translate speech between ‍languages.

Q.ai "is a remarkable company that is pioneering new and creative ways to use imaging and machine learning," Johny ⁠Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said in a statement. "We’re thrilled to acquire the company, with Aviad at the helm, and are even more excited for what’s to come.”

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman)

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