Apple hires team from AI audio startup Huxe in latest AI deal

Apple has reached a talent and technology licensing deal with AI audio startup Huxe, the fourth publicly disclosed Apple AI deal this year. EU Digital Markets Act documents show Apple can hire specific Huxe employees and gets a non-exclusive license to its intellectual property. The deal is an acqui-hire, not a company buyout, and the price was not disclosed. Huxe was founded by three former members of Google's NotebookLM team. Raiza Martin left Google in December 2024 and started the company with designer Jason Spielman and engineer Stephen Hughes. The app creates daily audio briefings from users' emails and calendars, makes podcast-style talks on topics, and offers audio updates on news and sports. It launched by invitation in June 2025, raised $4.6 million, and shut down on May 28, 2026.