Apple has entered a reverse acqui-hire deal with personalized podcast startup Huxe, hiring team members and licensing technology after Huxe's shutdown in May. The founders previously worked on AI-generated podcast features in Google's NotebookLM, and Apple's move may signal plans to add similar AI podcast capabilities to its Podcasts app.
Apple acquired employees and intellectual property from Huxe, an AI audio startup founded by former Google NotebookLM developers, in an acqui-hire deal disclosed to the EU in June 2026. Huxe had shut down in May 2026 after launching a personalized audio briefing app. The deal aligns with Apple's recent focus on AI-powered voice and vision interfaces.