Apple CEO Tim Cook joins Apple employees at an Apple Store as customers line up for the launch of Apple’s new iPhone 17 model in New York, September 19, 2025.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
apple has acquired Israeli artificial intelligence startup Q.ai, a company representative confirmed on Thursday. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Q.ai is secretive and has not shared its products publicly, but its website suggests it has been working on audio-related developments. The startup is led by CEO Aviad Maizels, who sold PrimeSense to Apple in 2013.
Johnny Srouzi, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technology, who first reported the news, told Reuters: “We’re thrilled to have acquired this company with Aviad at the helm, and we’re even more excited about what’s to come.” Srouji leads Apple’s chip development.
The company is GV (google Ventures), Kleiner Perkins, and Spark Capital, according to PitchBook, Q.ai was working on “communication-enhancing technology.”
Apple’s AirPods have been upgraded in recent years with AI, including live translation and intelligent noise cancellation that can recognize when you’re having a conversation.
Some investors are pushing Apple to make big acquisitions in AI, as its mega-cap peers pour money into cutting-edge models and the infrastructure to run them. Meanwhile, Apple’s more personal app-enabled products, such as Siri, have faced delays.
Apple typically acquires smaller companies that have specific technologies that it can integrate into its products. Apple also announced a deal with Google earlier this month to include some Apple Intelligence features in its Gemini models.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in July that the company is “very open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap.”
Maizels’ previous startup, PrimeSense, developed technology that allows sensors to detect the distance between objects and has been integrated into Apple’s Face ID sensor since 2017.
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