Apple Discloses Deal to Hire Huxe Team and License Startup Tech

What Apple disclosed

Apple said in a regulatory filing 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.” The disclosure was made to the European Commission and follows a report by MacRumors.

The arrangement is described as a reverse acqui-hire, a deal type the source says has become a way for larger companies to hire key startup employees and license technology without buying the company outright. The filing does not identify which employees were offered jobs, whether any accepted them, or how Apple plans to use the licensed technology.

Huxe is winding down

Huxe announced on May 21 that it was shutting down. The team said it would remove its app from the Apple and Google stores, halt service and delete user data. “The team is moving on to new things, and we won’t be continuing development of the product,” the company said.

The startup was founded by developers who previously worked on AI-generated podcast features in NotebookLM, recently renamed Gemini Notebook. Apple notified the European Commission of the Huxe deal on June 9, shortly after Huxe’s shutdown announcement.

Possible link to personalized audio

Huxe’s shutdown announcement came one day after Spotify unveiled AI-powered podcast generation features of its own. The TechCrunch report says Apple could be hoping to add similar functionality to its Podcasts app, while noting that the filing gives no details on Apple’s plans.

The report also says tech executives are enthusiastic about the idea that personalized audio could replace regular podcasts, and even parent-child interaction, though it adds that it is not clear how many ordinary listeners agree.

Sources: Techcrunch Ai