Apple revealed in a regulatory filing that it has reached an agreement to bring on team members and technology from personalized audio startup Huxe, in what's commonly known as a reverse acqui-hire deal. As first reported by MacRumors, Apple disclosed to the European Commission that it has agreed to make employment offers to certain employees of Huxe AI and to receive a non-exclusive license to Huxe's intellectual property rights.
Reverse acqui-hires emerged in recent years as a way for larger companies to hire key team members and license technology from startups without acquiring the startups outright, presumably allowing them to build up AI talent and tech without drawing as much antitrust scrutiny.
In the case of Huxe, the startup was founded by developers who'd previously worked on the AI-generated podcast features in NotebookLM, recently renamed Gemini Notebook. But Huxe announced on May 21 that it was shutting down, with the team posting that the company would be removing its app from the Apple and Google stores, halting service, and deleting user data.
On June 9, shortly after Huxe's announcement, Apple notified the European Commission of its deal. The filing does not say who received employment offers or if they accepted, nor does it disclose anything about Apple's plans. The move signals Apple's continued investment in AI-powered audio and podcast features.
