Apple Acquires U.K.-Based Speech Technology Startup VocalIQ

Apple has acquired a U.K.-based artificial intelligence company that is developing a more natural, human way for machines and people to communicate.

VocalIQ has been working on new spoken interfaces that could be used in a variety of applications — from the car to wearables to Internet-connected devices in the home.

Its expertise in teaching machines to understand the way people speak (instead of training humans to talk like robots) would clearly benefit Apple, which has been working to improve the aptitude of its Siri virtual assistant.

Enhancing Siri’s ability to better understand what people are asking — or to follow up with questions when its unclear — would touch virtually everything Apple does, from its iPhones and the Apple Watch to the electric car it still has under wraps.

The Cupertino technology company issued a statement confirming the deal, which was first reported by the Financial Times: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

The startup grew out of the University of Cambridge’s Dialog Systems Group, which uses deep learning to improve language recognition. VocalIQ did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via