Apple Acquires Israeli AI Startup Q.ai for $2B Ahead of Earnings

Apple acquires Israeli machine learning startup Q.ai for nearly $2 billion on January 29, 2026, to bolster audio and facial-sensing AI capabilities for AirPods and Vision Pro. The deal marks Apple’s second-largest acquisition after Beats in 2014. Q.ai, founded in 2022 and backed by Kleiner Perkins and Gradient Ventures, specializes in whisper recognition and noise-filtering audio tech. CEO Aviad Maizels — who previously sold PrimeSense to Apple in 2013 — will join Apple with co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya. The acquisition precedes Apple’s Q1 earnings, where analysts forecast $138B revenue and strongest iPhone sales growth in four years. The move signals intensified AI hardware competition against Meta and Google.