Apple just made its second biggest aquisition ever
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple has acquired Israeli AI startup Q.ai for around $2 billion, marking Apple’s second-largest acquisition ever.
- Q.ai specializes in AI and machine learning for audio problems, with technology that reads facial micro-movements to detect speech and emotion.
- The acquisition brings 100 Q.ai employees to Apple’s hardware division and could lead to improved communications features in future Apple products.
Reuters reports that Apple has confirmed the acquisition of Israeli startup Q.ai. The secret society specializes in the unique application of AI and machine learning to solve audio problems.
Q.ai’s website is sparse, with the slogan “In a world full of noise, we create a new kind of calm” and little else. Q.ai’s LinkedIn page has a little more information: “In an age where human communication is paramount, we’ve found a way to take it to the next level, enabling ultra-high bandwidth, unprecedented privacy, accessibility, multilingualism and much more. Biology can only take us so far. Q will do the rest.”
The Reuters article points out that Q.ai filed a patent last year to read micro-movements of facial skin to “detect spoken or spoken words, identify a person and assess their emotions, heart rate, breathing rate and other indicators.” In other words, Q.ai is developing technology that can read lips, emotional state, etc.
The company’s CEO, Aviad Maizels, founded PrimeSense and sold it to Apple in 2013. That company’s technology formed the basis for Face ID and the TrueDepth sensor array.
The company has around a hundred employees, who will join Apple. Johny Srouji, Apple’s vice president of hardware technologies, said Q.ai “is a remarkable company that is innovating new and creative ways to use imaging and machine learning. We are thrilled to acquire the company, with Aviad at the helm, and are even more excited about what’s to come.”
It has been reported that Q.ai is valued at around $2 billion, which would make it the second largest acquisition Apple has ever made, behind Beats Electronics in 2014 (around $3 billion) and Intel’s cellular modem business in 2016 (around $1 billion).
