Apple has reached an agreement to recruit employees from Huxe and license the AI audio startup's technology, according to a new European Commission filing.
The filing says Apple will have the right to make employment offers to certain Huxe employees and receive a non-exclusive license to the company's intellectual property, so this isn't an outright acquisition of the company.
Huxe was founded by former Google NotebookLM team members Raiza Martin, Jason Spielman, and Stephen Hughes. NotebookLM – since renamed Gemini Notebook – is Google's AI research tool, which is best known for its ability to turn documents and other source material into podcast-style audio discussions.
Huxe brought a similar approach to personalized listening, given that its app generated audio briefings based on users' emails, calendars, and interests, as well as podcasts about topics they wanted to explore. Listeners could interrupt the AI hosts to ask questions or request a different explanation.
The startup announced in May that it was winding down, and said its team was moving on and that development would stop. Its audio service ended on May 28. Apple notified the Commission of the arrangement on June 9.
The filing does not say which employees Apple could recruit, nor does it confirm whether anyone has actually been hired.
