Apple recently announced its acquisition of Q.ai, a company based in the occupied Palestinian territories that develops artificial intelligence technology for voice. This acquisition is the second largest in Apple's history, after its acquisition of Beats in 2014.
What is Q.ai and what is its technology?
Q.ai is a startup company focused on developing artificial intelligence technologies that handle voice and analyze facial expressions. Through its innovations, it can understand "silent speech" by recognizing subtle movements of facial skin, enabling communication without the need for actual words.
In short, this technology understands what you say even if no sound actually comes from you.
This technology could be used in headphones or smart glasses to enable users to talk to a smart assistant like Siri in a silent way, and this opens the door to non-verbal conversations and different ways of interacting with devices.
Why is this acquisition important for Apple?
Apple paid approximately $2 billion to acquire Q.ai, making it the company's second-largest acquisition after the $3 billion purchase of Beats. Apple is interested in this technology because it could help develop new devices or improve our experience with its smart products.
Q.ai CEO Aviad Mazels also has a long history with Apple, having founded another company that was acquired by Apple, PrimeSense, which helped develop the iPhone’s Face ID feature since 2017.
How might this technology affect our future?
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, Apple is striving to offer new ways to interact with its devices in a more natural and intelligent manner. With Q.ai technology, we may one day be able to speak to our devices silently or in entirely new ways.
This acquisition comes at a time when former Apple designer Jony Ive is working on a new AI-powered device, while other companies like Meta are launching advanced smart glasses. It seems the future of technology will see more seamless communication between humans and machines.
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