Apple Buys Speech Technology Startup VocalIQ

When Apple first demonstrated Siri, it was heralded as being the ultimate voice assistant feature. However it kind of fell short of expectations when it was launched. Over the years Apple has made some pretty huge strides in terms of improving upon the feature, and now thanks to a recent acquisition, Siri could be getting an additional boost.

A report from the Financial Times (paywall; via Re/code) has revealed that Apple had recently acquired a UK-based speech technology startup called VocalIQ. The company specializes on creating spoken interfaces that can be used in all kinds of applications, ranging from cars, to wearables, to internet-connected devices, all of which Apple has a stake or interest in (think Apple Watch and HomeKit).

No doubt this technology would also go a long way in helping Siri better understand and perform for its users too. In a statement released by Apple, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” Interestingly enough as pointed out by John Gruber, it was earlier this year that VocalIQ lamented on the current state of voice assistant features.

Posted on its blog, VocalIQ wrote, “All major technology companies are pouring billions into building up of services like Siri, Google Now, Cortana and Alexa. Each was launched with a huge bang, promising great things but fell well short of consumer expectations. Some ended being used only as toys, like Siri. The rest, forgotten. Unsurprisingly.” Kind of ironic now that they’ve now been acquired by Apple, huh?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple
Tags: iOS, Siri