Apple buys AI startup: second most expensive takeover in company history | News

While other large corporations from the tech sector are happy to raise double-digit billions to buy other companies, Apple is very cautious here. It is rare for assets to be worth more than half a billion dollars. Apple spent $600 million on Dialog Semiconductor (2018), $1 billion on Intel’s modem division, and Beats set the record for $3 billion. According to the Financial Times, the second most expensive takeover to date has now taken place, with Apple shelling out between $1.6 and $2 billion for a startup called Q.ai, depending on the source. The founder is an old acquaintance of Apple, as CEO Aviad Maizels launched PrimeSense 13 years ago and sold it to Apple for 360 million – to supply the basics of Face ID.

Known information about Q.ai
According to the Financial Times, Q.ai has no products, but does have interesting technologies and patents. The company focused on analyzing facial expressions in order to understand “silent speech”. By accurately recording the facial muscles, “communication without speaking” is possible – which could, for example, be an additional factor in conversations with Siri. The main project, however, was to understand whispers, even in environments with a lot of noise. Incidentally, the founding team of Q.ai is completely switching to Apple, Aviad Maizels, Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya will from now on serve Cupertino. The same applies to the approximately 100 employees.

Apple’s statement
Apple confirmed the reports, but did not comment on the exact purchase price. Johny Srouji, head of chip development, commented to Reuters: Q.ai is a remarkable company that is pioneering in the areas of image processing and machine learning. They are thrilled to have bought “Q.ai with Aviad at the helm” – and about everything that is to come. Understandably, he did not want to reveal further details about the background and specific product plans.