Apple Acquires Israeli AI Startup Q.AI for Nearly $2 Billion to Power Future Wearables

Apple has completed one of its largest acquisitions to date, purchasing the Israeli artificial intelligence startup Q.AI for approximately $2 billion. The deal secures technology capable of analyzing facial expressions to interpret "silent speech," potentially allowing users to control devices without speaking a word.



According to the Financial Times, patents filed by the four-year-old startup describe systems that detect "facial skin micro-movements" to communicate without speaking. The technology is designed for use in headphones or smart glasses, allowing users to issue private, non-verbal commands to an AI assistant without relying on voice.


Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies, described Q.AI as a "remarkable company that is pioneering new and creative ways to use imaging and machine learning." The Tel Aviv-based firm was founded in 2022 by Aviad Maizels, Yonatan Wexler, and Avi Barliya. Notably, some members of the team previously worked at PrimeSense, the 3D sensing company Apple acquired in 2013 that helped lay the groundwork for Face ID.

The startup has operated largely in stealth since its founding. In a social media post shortly after launch, co-founder Yonatan Wexler teased the technology's potential, betting that the product would leave users "speechless." Its financial backers included GV (formerly Google Ventures), Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, and Exor.

The acquisition comes as Apple faces growing pressure to close the gap with rivals in the race to create AI-powered wearables. Meta has already seen success with its Ray-Ban smart glasses, which allow wearers to converse with its AI, while Google and Snap are reportedly preparing to launch their own smart glasses later this year. Meanwhile, OpenAI recently acquired LoveFrom's io, a startup led by former Apple design chief Jony Ive that is developing its own AI hardware.

Apple itself has been rumored to be exploring several new form factors, including an AirTag-sized wearable equipped with cameras.


While Apple typically favors smaller acqui-hires to bolster engineering teams, a deal of this size is unusual. At roughly $2 billion, it ranks among the company's largest purchases, trailing only the $3 billion Beats acquisition in 2014 and surpassing the $1 billion purchase of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019.

The investment follows reports that Apple has partnered with Google to use Gemini models for certain cloud-based tasks while it works to overhaul Siri. Those upgrades were reportedly delayed until later this year.

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