Apple acquires assets of Swiss AI audio editing company Samplab

Apple has acquired assets of Samplab, the Swiss company behind AI-powered audio editing software capable of polyphonic note editing, stem separation and chord detection. According to MusicRadar, the deal surfaced when the EU’s List of Acquisitions website was updated with details of an agreement made in June.

The filing states that Apple bought “certain assets” from Samplab through a subsidiary and hired some of its employees. Neither company has disclosed the specifics, and Samplab’s website has been taken down and now redirects to Apple’s homepage.

Founded in 2020, Samplab developed a standalone app and plugin that detects and edits chords, splits tracks into stems and converts audio to MIDI, which its creators called “the ultimate audio editor for musicians”. The company also made Resynthesizer, a plugin that turns one-shot samples into playable instruments using an on-device AI engine.

MusicRadar expects the acquisition to feed AI features in Logic Pro and GarageBand. Its best guess is an upgrade to Logic Pro’s Flex Pitch, which edits the pitch, timing and length of notes in audio but only works on monophonic material. Samplab’s technology could bring polyphonic editing of the kind long associated with Celemony’s Melodyne. Logic Pro already offers stem separation, chord detection and Session Players, AI-based virtual musicians that generate MIDI parts. The outlet considers fully generative, Suno-style audio tools less likely but possible.