The history of computing is a history of friction. For decades, we have been forced to speak the language of the machine: learning to type, to click, and to swipe. But, we believe we are in the midst of a new tech revolution: an era where the machine finally learns to understand us.
One of our portfolio companies pushing hardest into this new world, Q.ai, has been acquired by Apple, marking Apple’s second-largest acquisition in its history. For a company that defines the global gold standard for design and user experience, a bet of this magnitude signals something truly generational.
Apple has always been the master of the “invisible interface”–the technology that feels like an extension of yourself. They don’t just buy companies for features; they acquire teams that can redefine how billions of people interact with the world and each other. The Founders of Q.ai are that kind of team.
It starts with CEO Aviad Maizels, who has a unique history with the team in Cupertino. Aviad previously founded PrimeSense, the company that created the tech behind Kinect and was acquired by Apple in November 2013. That technology eventually became the foundation for Apple’s own depth cameras and Face ID. This marks the second time Aviad has built a company so foundational that Apple chose to bring it into the fold, a rare feat.
Joining him is Dr. Yonatan Wexler, a Marr Prize winner and globally recognized ML talent whose work at OrCam resulted in “Best Inventions” honors from Time Magazine. Completing this trio is Dr. Avi Barliya, a serial entrepreneur who has built everything from self-driving systems to lunar spacecraft with SpaceIL. When you combine this level of academic rigor with a relentless focus on the consumer, you get the kind of “magic” that only a few companies in a generation can produce.
We first co-led Q’s inception Seed round in 2022 with our friends at Aleph (coinvestors with us in Lemonade and Simply) and followed on in the company’s Series A in 2023. Q.ai has operated in stealth since its inception, hard at work collapsing the gap between human intent and digital execution.
We are going to deeply miss working with this team, they are extraordinarily smart, high integrity and tenacious. After the horrendous Oct 7th attack in 2023 approximately 30% of the company were drafted into military service, and for months afterwards our weekly meetings were interrupted as the team had to scramble into bomb shelters, this slowed them down less than I could have imagined and not once did they complain, instead their energy was focused on supporting their community and making technical breakthroughs
By joining Apple, Q’s technology has the potential to reach billions of people, fundamentally changing how we connect with one another. I’ve always been curious about what happens when the computer finally “disappears” into our daily lives. Thanks to Aviad, Yonatan, Avi, and their remarkable team, we may find out very soon.