now we know what he does

Apple just released $2 billion for Q.aian Israeli startup that has been operating in complete silence for four years.

It is the second largest purchase in its history, only behind the 3,000 million he paid for Beats in 2014. But unlike then, when it bought a very famous brand of headphones and a streaming service that would be the seed of Apple Music, now it is betting on a technology unknown to the vast majority.

Q.ai develops AI systems capable of interpreting what they call “silent speech”: technology that reads facial micromovements to understand what you are saying even if you don’t pronounce the words. Their patents show optical sensors integrated into headphones or glasses that detect almost imperceptible muscle contractions in the cheeks, jaw and lips. No audible voice is necessary, the intention to speak is enough.

The company He condenses his proposal in the following sentence: “In a world full of noise, we create a new kind of silence.” It is the description of what its technology promises: communicating with a device without having to make any sound.

The pattern that repeats

Q.ai CEO Aviad Maizels already sold a company to Apple in 2013: PrimeSense. She was the one who developed the depth technology of the forgotten Xbox Kinect. Apple transformed it into what would end up being Face ID, its facial recognition system that debuted in the iPhone X 2017. Now he returns to Cupertino with a startup that seeks to define the next decade of interaction with devices.

Along with Maizels there are two other recognized names in the industry:

The pattern that unites them is that of converting cutting-edge technology into products for the mass consumer market.

Google Ventures was an early investor in Q.ai. In 2022, when he announced his investment, he described his work as “collapsing the gap between human intention and digital execution.” Tom Hulne, one of GV’s partners, said after this purchase that “I always wondered what would happen when the computer finally ‘disappeared’ into our daily lives. Thanks to this team, we may find out soon.”

Why does this matter now?

Not even the most loyal and enthusiastic Apple public is able to deny that Apple has arrived late in the generative and conversational AI race. Their proposal is far behind what OpenAI, Google or Anthropic offer today. Siri, despite being on the market for almost fifteen years, is still extremely limited compared to the rest.

The purchase of Q.ai is not going to solve that in the short term, but it does point to where Apple is aiming in the medium term.

The problem is not only a question of technical capacity, there is also a social ceiling in the interaction with chatbots: Writing is slow and tedious, speaking is more comfortable and faster but it is not always feasible. In public settings, intimacy is lost and is often not an option. Q.ai offers a third way: interact with the AI ​​without anyone else knowing and without breaking the flow of what you do.

This technology fits well into what we think we know Apple has in development thanks to leaks and patents:

That is to say: devices designed to always be with you, active all day and aware of the environmentbut without requiring you to change your social behavior to use them.

The business of disappearing

Big technology companies have spent the last three decades competing for our attention by bombarding us with notifications, resorting to scroll infinite and optimizing algorithms to maximize the engagement. Now we are going towards something opposite: technology so integrated that it becomes invisible. It doesn’t interrupt or distract, it’s just there when you need it. More and less connected at the same time.

Historically, That has been a promise closely linked to Apple: interfaces designed to feel like natural extensions of ourselves. Additionally, Apple rarely buys a company for an isolated feature, it usually buys equipment capable of changing the way you interact with your devices. Q.ai, with those 2,000 kilos on the table, is a sign that the bet is going there.

Now it remains to be seen how Apple implements it, how it integrates it into a product that reaches the market and if we are prepared for our devices to understand us without us saying anything out loud. Where communication with machines occurs at such an intimate level that not even the person next to us perceives it.

Apple has just paid 2 billion for the future of silence and now we have to know if we will want to live in it.

Featured image | Nandaperin

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