Apple acquires audio AI startup Q.ai for Nearly $2 Billion, per Financial Times report.
TLDR:
Apple confirmed on January 29, 2026, the acquisition of Q.ai, an Israeli startup specializing in artificial intelligence for audio processing, in a deal valued at close to $2 billion, according to our sources.
Apple Inc. acquired Q.ai, a Tel Aviv-based startup founded in 2022 that develops technology to interpret whispered speech and silent communication through facial muscle movements.
The startup, which employs about 100 people, focuses on machine learning applications that enable devices to understand soft speech, enhance audio quality in noisy settings, and detect words via "facial skin micromovements" as detailed in a patent application filed last year.
Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said in a statement that Q.ai "is a remarkable company that is pioneering new and creative ways to use imaging and machine learning."
Q.ai's investors included Matter Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, Exor, and GV, previously known as Google Ventures.
The acquisition marks Apple's second-largest purchase, following its $3 billion buy of Beats in 2014, with the Financial Times reporting a valuation near $2 billion, though Apple did not disclose terms.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the deal valued Q.ai at about $1.6 billion.
Q.ai CEO Aviad Maizels, who co-founded the company with Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya, previously sold his 3D-sensing firm PrimeSense to Apple in 2013, technology that later supported the iPhone's facial recognition feature.
According to Bloomberg, the entire Q.ai team, including its founders, will join Apple.
“We combined advanced machine learning with physics to build something truly deep and unique,” Maizels said in a statement.
Apple has integrated AI into its AirPods in recent years, adding features such as live translation between languages in 2025.
Q.ai's technology involves optical sensors potentially built into headphones or glasses to recognize non-verbal cues, including emotions, heart rate, and respiration.
