Apple · Gemini · TechCrunch AI
Apple shares agreement to hire team and license tech from personalized podcast firm Huxe
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
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.
Key facts
- On June 9, shortly after Huxe’s announcement, Apple notified the European Commission of its deal
- As first reported in 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
- 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 )
- The team is moving on to new things, and we won’t be continuing development of the product,” the company said
Summary
As first reported in 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. (Confusingly, these deals have both been referred to as “reverse acqui-hires” and as plain old “acqui-hires.