Talking? Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Talking (AVALON Podcast)
In the 35th episode of the AVALON podcast, Neil discussed the following topics/subjects:
What's on the Agenda (the bulk of the discussion modeled after Apple’s Monday morning meetings)
Apple’s M&A philosophy.
Apple acquires Q.
Q patents.
How Q can power a new user interface for Apple.
AI mania vs. human-centric computing.
Lighting Round (two topics two minutes each)
The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Why it feels inevitable that a pure play video streamer will get the Super Bowl one day.
Give Me a Break (something ridiculous that jumped out at me)
Coinbase’s ridiculous Super Bowl ad and subsequent behavior.
Tell Me More (something intriguing that has my attention)
LoveFrom, Ferrari. Jony Ive’s design vision of what an electric (Ferrari) car should be in today’s marketplace.
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Apple Acquires Q, The Key Q Patent, Apple Is Developing a New User Interface
Hello everyone. Today’s update will be dedicated to Apple’s Q acquisition. At $1.6B, this is the second-largest Apple acquisition in terms of deal value. It’s a fascinating acquisition. Let’s discuss.
Apple Acquires Q
Here’s Reuters:
“Apple on Thursday said it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple did not disclose terms of the deal for Q.ai, which was backed by venture capital firms Matter Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, Exor and GV, formerly known as Google Ventures. The deal valued the startup at about $1.6 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Apple did not say how it will use Q.ai's technology but said the startup has worked on new applications of machine learning to help devices understand whispered speech and to enhance audio in challenging environments.
Q.ai last year filed a patent application to use "facial skin micromovements" to detect words mouthed or spoken, identify a person and assess their emotions, heart rate, respiration rate and other indicators.
Q.ai's 100 employees, including CEO Aviad Maizels and co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya, will join Apple, the companies said.
Maizels founded three-dimensional sensing firm PrimeSense and sold it to Apple in 2013. The PrimeSense deal eventually helped Apple move away from fingerprint sensors on its iPhones and toward facial recognition technology.”
Johny Srouji, Apple’s SVP of hardware technologies, provided the following statement to Reuters: Q “is a remarkable company that is pioneering new and creative ways to use imaging and machine learning. We’re thrilled to acquire the company, with Aviad at the helm, and are even more excited for what’s to come.”
When Apple acquired PrimeSense in 2013 for $360M, the company simply confirmed the acquisition and the provided what had been its generic "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans” M&A comment.
The Q acquisition includes technology (with accompanying patents) that have very high probabilities of being brought to market via Apple products. Apple is not going to
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