Apple bought an Israeli AI startup for a whopping $2 billion. What is its value to the tech giant?
Apple has acquired Israeli startup Q.AI for $2 billion, the second largest acquisition in the history of the Apple tech giant.
Apple has acquired Israeli startup Q.AI for $2 billion, the second largest acquisition in the history of the Apple tech giant.
According to the Financial Times, the startup’s technology can analyze facial expressions to understand the so-called «silent language.»
The publication concludes that this deal is designed to help the iPhone maker close the gap with Meta, Google and OpenAI in the growing race to create new types of artificial intelligence devices.
In a blog post, one of Q.AI’s financial investors, GV (formerly Google Ventures), said the deal was «Apple’s second-largest acquisition in its history.»
Patents filed by Q.AI show that its technology is used in headphones or glasses, and is built on recognizing «micro-movements of facial skin.»
Such a system could allow Apple customers wearing headphones and smart glasses to have private, nonverbal conversations with an AI-powered assistant.
Jony Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technology, said Q.AI is «a great company that is pioneering new and creative ways to use visualization and machine learning.»
The publication recalls that Apple rarely makes large acquisitions, preferring instead to discreetly «hire» talent from competing companies or secure intellectual property in smaller startups that often go unnoticed.
Apple’s biggest deal to date is its $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014, which helped the tech giant catch up with Spotify in the competitive race with Apple Music.
Q.AI was founded by Aviad Maisels, Jonathan Wexler and Avi Barlia in Tel Aviv in 2022. Since then, it has operated largely privately. Some members of the Q.AI team previously worked at another Israeli startup, PrimeSense, which Apple acquired in 2013. PrimeSense’s 3D sensor technology was a key part of the FaceID login system in the iPhone.
As dev.ua wrote, Apple will introduce Siri based on Gemini in February and is preparing to release iOS 26.4 in the spring of 2026.
In addition, the day before, Apple reported record quarterly iPhone sales in the company’s history.
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