Apple buys secretive audio AI startup Q.ai

Apple has acquired Q.ai, a little‑known Israeli startup focused on audio-focused artificial intelligence, in a deal reportedly worth about $2 billion. That price tag would make Q.ai Apple’s second-largest purchase after Beats.

Q.ai develops machine learning tools that help devices pick up and interpret hard-to-hear speech, like whispers, and improve audio quality in noisy conditions. In a patent filing last year, the company described using tiny movements in facial skin to detect spoken or mouthed words, identify who is speaking, and gauge their emotional state. Apple has not detailed how it will use the technology, but the deal fits its push to deepen on-device AI capabilities, especially around voice and sound.