Apple CEO Tim Cook holds the next-generation iPhone 17 at an Apple special event held at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California on September 9, 2025.
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apple is in the final stages of negotiations with computer vision startup Prompt AI to acquire top talent from its technology, CNBC has revealed.
According to audio obtained by CNBC, Prompto executives told employees at an all-hands meeting Thursday about the pending deal, saying employees who don’t end up joining Apple will have their pay reduced and will be encouraged to apply for open positions at the company.
Executives said at the meeting that the 11-employee company had been approached by other potential suitors, including Elon Musk’s xAI and Neuralink.
Prompt was founded in 2023 and raised a $5 million seed round that year led by AIX and Abstract Ventures. Co-founders include CEO Tete Hsiao, a prominent AI researcher with a PhD in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley, and President Trevor Darrell, founder of the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (BAIR).
Mr. Hsiao and Mr. Darrell did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Apple. xAI and Neuralink did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Investors will receive some compensation from the deal, but “it will not be complete,” executives said at the meeting. Immediate employees were asked not to mention Apple until further notice when looking for other jobs or updating friends and family.
Seemour, Prompt’s flagship app, connects to home security cameras and adds advanced features. This technology helps cameras detect specific people, pets, and other animals and objects around your home, sending alerts and text-based descriptions of unusual activity, and answering questions about what’s happening in front of the camera.
Xiao told employees at the meeting that Prompt AI’s technology and Seemour app are working well, but the business model is not. The company plans to retire the Seemour app and notify users that their data will be deleted and their privacy protected, executives said.
Silicon Valley tech giants are acquiring top AI talent through acquisitions, with the aim of boosting AI research and development while avoiding regulatory concerns. The Apple-Prompt deal is much smaller than recent high-profile deals. meta The $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI included participation from the company’s founders and other executives. Google The agreement with Windsurf’s CEO and leadership also includes licensing fees, resulting in a $2.4 billion deal.
Apple has traditionally avoided large-scale acquisitions. In its first half-century, Apple’s biggest acquisition was a $3 billion deal with Beats Electronics in 2014. The company prefers to quietly acquire small teams and leverage their talent and technology to develop features for its product line.
Some analysts believe that Apple’s relatively slow progress in AI is due to its unwillingness to make big purchases. The company’s stock price has fallen 2% since the beginning of the year, lagging well behind major indexes and the worst performer among tech giants.
Apple Intelligence, the iPhone maker’s foray into generative AI, has been underwhelmed by critics and faced delays, but the company has had technical successes in computer vision, particularly with its Vision Pro mixed reality headset. The iPhone also has the ability to decipher objects, people, and pets in photos you take.
Prompto’s technology and talent will likely join Apple’s smart home division, HomeKit.
—CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report.
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