Apple’s $2B Q.ai Deal Could Unlock Voice-Free AI Device Control

The ink is barely dry on Apple’s deal with Google to utilize Gemini to train its own AI models, and today's announcement signals that the company is really ramping-up its AI ambitions. Apple just disclosed that it intends to acquire Q.ai for roughly $1.6 billion, which is a startup that specializes in implementing AI in applications that involve voice-free interactions.

Apple’s SVP of Hardware Technologies, Johnny Srouji, was effusive in his praise of bringing Q.ai into the fold. He says that it’s a “remarkable company that is pioneering new and creative ways to use imaging and machine learning."

To get a sense of what Apple will be gaining from this acquisition, one needn’t look further than one of the patent applications Q.ai filed last year. The company describes being able to use “facial skin micromovements” to discern what a person might ...