Apple has discreetly reached an agreement to hire employees and license the intellectual property of Animato, a California-based company known for its virtual avatar software used in video chats and tutoring. This strategic move, filed under the EU’s Digital Markets Act in January 2026, is a “structured acqui-hire,” allowing Apple to offer employment to select Animato staff and gain a non-exclusive license to its intellectual property, alongside acquiring its patent applications. Animato, founded in October 2022 by former Apple employee Francesco Rossi, gained recognition for its “Call Annie” app, which enabled real-time animated avatar interactions with ChatGPT and expanded into language learning with avatar tutors. The company also developed Animato Studio, a macOS app for creating fantasy and anime avatars for video calls. Following the acquisition, both apps have been removed from the App Store. This marks Apple’s second acquisition of a digital avatar firm in just over a year, following its purchase of TrueMeeting in January 2025. Apple continues to enhance its avatar offerings with features like Memoji on iPhone and Personas on Apple Vision Pro.
Why is Apple partnering with Animato for virtual avatars?
