JAKARTA – Apple has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli Artificial Ininformigence (AI) start-up. This acquisition was built to strengthen the company’s position in the audio and hardware technology sector.
This deal is reportedly worth 2 billion US dollars or around Rp. 33.5 trillion. This value creates Q.ai the second largest acquisition in Apple’s history after purchaseing Beats Electronics in 2014.
Q.ai is known for its expertise in machine learning that is able to translate whispered speech very clearly. The company’s technology is also very effective in improving audio quality in noisy environments.
This acquisition is expected to improve the smart features on the AirPods device, including the ability to translate directly. In addition, Q.ai technology will also be applyd to detect facial muscle activity to improve the Vision Pro headset.
Interestingly, this is the second time that the founder of Q.ai, Aviad Maizels, has sold his company to Apple. Previously, he successfully sold PrimeSense which is applyd in FaceID technology on iPhone devices.
In line with this acquisition, the entire founding team of Q.ai, including Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya, is confirmed to join Apple management. The two are expected to be able to accelerate Apple’s AI-based product innovation.
The news of this major acquisition comes in conjunction with Apple’s earnings announcement. In the latest financial report shared by the company, Apple managed to rake in a quarterly revenue of US$143.8 billion or equivalent to Rp2,300.8 trillion.
Financial data concludeing December 27 was up 16 percent from the previous year. This revenue surge was driven by iPhone sales skyrocketing in China to 38 percent reaching US$25.53 billion (Rp404.8 trillion).
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