Apple is bringing in talent from a young AI audio company built by former Google engineers.

Apple disclosed in a European Commission filing that it has agreed to make job offers to "certain employees of Huxe AI" and to "receive a non-exclusive license to Huxe's intellectual property rights," TechCrunch reported. MacRumors first reported the filing.

Huxe makes personalized audio, such as AI-generated podcasts tailored to each listener. It was founded by Raiza Martin, Jason Spielman and Stephen Hughes, who worked on Google's NotebookLM, MacRumors reported. NotebookLM, since renamed Gemini Notebook, is best known for turning documents into podcast-style audio conversations.

This is not an outright purchase. The deal is what is known as a "reverse acqui-hire." Big companies use these deals to hire key staff and license technology without buying the startup. That can help them avoid lengthy reviews by competition regulators, TechCrunch noted.

The agreement was finalized in June 2026, according to the filing in the European Union's Digital Markets Act database, The Mac Observer reported. It is the fourth AI-related deal Apple has disclosed this year.

Apple has been under pressure to catch up in AI. Rivals like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have moved faster with chatbots and AI assistants. Apple's own AI features have rolled out more slowly than planned.

Huxe's audio technology could help Apple add AI features to products like Podcasts, Siri or Apple Music. Apple did not say how it will use the technology.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Huxe did not say what happens to its own app.

What we know: Apple will hire Huxe staff and license its AI audio technology, an EU filing shows.
What we don't: The deal's terms, how Apple will use the technology and what happens to Huxe's app.