Apple discloses reverse acqui-hire deal with personalized podcast startup Huxe

Apple disclosed a reverse acqui-hire deal with personalized podcast startup Huxe on October 10 via the EU Digital Markets Act merger database. According to the filing, Apple made job offers to selected Huxe AI employees and obtained a non-exclusive license to Huxe intellectual property. The agreement is dated June 9, shortly after Huxe announced it was shutting down operations on May 21. The filing does not disclose how many employees received offers or Apple's plans for the technology. Huxe was founded by developers who had previously worked on NotebookLM, now Gemini Notebook, the AI podcast feature. Huxe pulled its apps from the Apple and Google stores on May 21 and deleted user data, with the founders saying the team was moving on. Apple's move comes as Spotify rolled out its own AI podcast generation features on the same day Huxe shut down, suggesting Apple is preparing to add AI-generated audio capabilities to Apple Podcasts. Reverse acqui-hire deals have become a common pattern in AI, designed to absorb key talent and IP without triggering large-scale antitrust review.