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hires AI startup founded by former NotebookLM developers
9to5Mac • • technology
Key Points:
- Apple has acqui-hired Huxe AI, a startup founded by former Google NotebookLM developers, gaining rights to hire certain employees and a non-exclusive license to Huxe’s personalized audio content technology.
- Huxe, launched in mid-2025, developed an AI audio app that generated personalized daily briefings and podcast-style conversations from users' emails and calendars, but shut down in May 2026.
- This deal marks at least the fourth AI-related acquisition or acqui-hire by Apple disclosed in 2026, aligning with its strategy to enhance AI-driven voice and interaction technologies.
- The acqui-hire structure allows Apple to integrate talent and technology without fully acquiring the company, a practice under scrutiny by regulators like the FTC for potentially bypassing traditional merger reviews.
- The FTC and Justice Department have been examining changes to premerger reporting rules to address acqui-hires and related deals, though no significant regulatory actions have been reported recently.
