My colleague Luke Lango studies where the AI boom is going next – and which young companies are building technologies the Big Tech giants may eventually decide they need. Today, he’s looking at one of Apple’s largest recent acquisitions: Q.ai, an obscure AI startup reportedly purchased for nearly $2 billion despite having no sales or publicly available product.

Apple is searching for specialized AI technology. Q.ai shows why early investors may benefit before an acquisition is announced.

Which is worth more: a company that’s sitting out Big Tech’s mega AI spending spree or a company that’s fueling it?