Apple's second biggest acquisition ever is an AI company that listens to 'silent speech'

"Apple's biggest acquisition ever is still its $3 billion Beats buy in 2014, but now the second biggest deal is bringing in Q.ai, a four-year-old AI audio startup. Apple did not disclose the terms, but Financial Times reports that Apple is spending $2 billion on the company, and mentions Q.ai patents for technology that could be built into headphones or glasses to recognize "facial skin micro movements," allowing for non-verbal discussions with an AI assistant, for example."

"The founders of Q.ai will join Apple, including CEO Aviad Maizels, who founded PrimeSense. Apple bought that company in 2013 and repurposed its Xbox Kinect technology to power the iPhone's FaceID setup. This time around, tech that understands whispered speech could connect to the generative AI-upgraded Siri or other Apple Intelligence features, and work with future AirPods, Vision Pro, iPhone, or Mac devices."

Apple acquired four-year-old AI audio startup Q.ai for approximately $2 billion, marking the company's second-largest purchase after Beats. Q.ai holds patents for imaging and audio technologies that can detect facial skin micro movements and understand whispered speech, enabling non-verbal interaction with AI assistants. Q.ai founders, including CEO Aviad Maizels, will join Apple; Maizels previously founded PrimeSense, whose technology became the basis for FaceID. The acquired technology could integrate with Siri or Apple Intelligence and be built into future AirPods, Vision Pro, iPhone, or Mac hardware. Google Ventures had backed Q.ai.

Read at The Verge